The World Health Organization (WHO) expressed deep concern over the recent assault on South Hospital, the sole facility in El Fasher, Darfur, that is equipped for surgical procedures, as indicated in a message posted on X. The closure of the hospital due to the attack has placed significant strain on the two remaining hospitals in the area, severely hampering access to critical medical services. Reports indicate that the hospital was forced to shut down after soldiers from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) entered the premises and opened fire. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the NGO that assists in managing the hospital, reported on X that armed individuals made off with medical equipment and an ambulance.
In a related update on social media, the WHO denounced “another attack” on a healthcare facility in Wad Al-Nura, located in Al-Jazirah state south of Khartoum, where a nurse was killed while attending to patients during the incident.
The WHO stated, “Attacks on healthcare are strongly condemned. Health workers and patients should never have to jeopardize their safety to provide or receive medical care,” shortly after an attack on the village by RSF paramilitaries reportedly involving heavy artillery resulted in over 100 fatalities.
UN human rights chief Volker Türk joined the global outcry on Friday against that incident, noting evidence collected by his office that “indicates the RSF utilized weapons with wide-area effects, including artillery shells, during the assault.” Previously, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights highlighted the “devastating impact” the ongoing conflict between the Sudan Armed Forces and RSF has had on civilians in El Fasher, situated in the far western region of the country.
In addition to making personal appeals through separate phone calls to military leaders from both factions, Mr. Türk cautioned that over 1.8 million residents and internally displaced individuals in the city are “besieged and at imminent risk of famine.” He asserted that any further escalation “would have a catastrophic impact on civilians and exacerbate intercommunal conflicts with dire humanitarian repercussions.”
The humanitarian crisis stemming from the intense fighting that erupted across Sudan last April is on the verge of becoming the globe’s largest hunger crisis. The UN World Food Programme (WFP) reported that 18 million individuals in Sudan are facing acute food insecurity, including nearly five million who are experiencing emergency levels of hunger.
“This is the highest figure ever documented during the harvest season… Approximately 90 percent of those in emergency situations are situated in regions where access is severely restricted due to ongoing fighting and limitations,” the WFP stated in a call for immediate funding.
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