An assault on the main hospital in Al-Fashir, a town in western Sudan, claimed nine lives and injured 20 others, including patients and their families, on Friday, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus condemned the attack in a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday, calling it part of a troubling pattern of violence targeting healthcare in Sudan.
“Continued attacks on health across Sudan are deplorable,” he stated. “We urge the protection of all patients and health professionals, and call for an immediate end to violence in and around health facilities.”
Sudan has been embroiled in conflict since April 2023, as rival factions led by army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), battle for control.
The war has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians, displaced over 11 million people, and plunged the country into one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent history.
Al-Fashir, the capital of North Darfur, has been under siege by RSF forces since May, cutting off vital trade and humanitarian aid to the region.
