Approximately 70 people lost their lives in an attack on the Saudi Teaching Maternal Hospital, the only operational medical facility in the besieged city of El Fasher, Sudan, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The incident is part of escalating violence in the country’s ongoing civil war.
The hospital attack, blamed by local authorities on the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), occurred amidst recent battlefield setbacks for the RSF against the Sudanese military led by Gen. Abdel-Fattah Burhan. On Saturday, Burhan’s forces claimed control of a critical oil refinery near Khartoum, further pressuring the RSF.
The Saudi Foreign Ministry condemned the hospital assault as a breach of international law. Meanwhile, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus described the attack as “appalling,” confirming the casualties on the social platform X.
“At the time of the attack, the hospital was packed with patients receiving care,” Ghebreyesus wrote, adding that another health facility in Al Malha was also targeted. He reiterated calls for an end to attacks on healthcare facilities and stressed that “peace is the best medicine” for the suffering population.
The RSF has not acknowledged responsibility for the El Fasher attack. However, U.N. official Clementine Nkweta-Salami noted that the RSF had issued a 48-hour ultimatum earlier, threatening an offensive against Sudanese Armed Forces in the city. El Fasher, under RSF siege since May 2024, now houses over one million people, many displaced by the conflict.
The U.N. reported in December that the RSF siege in El Fasher had resulted in 782 civilian deaths and over 1,140 injuries, with actual numbers likely higher. The Saudi hospital, located near El Fasher’s airport, has frequently been hit by shelling, yet its staff continues to perform life-saving surgeries under extreme conditions.
As the conflict rages, the RSF appears to have lost control of key positions in Khartoum, including the city’s main oil refinery and the Signal Corps headquarters. Despite these losses, the RSF insists it is maintaining pressure on the Sudanese military.
The humanitarian crisis in Sudan, marked by violence and widespread displacement, continues to draw international condemnation and urgent calls for peace.
