The World Health Organization said on Saturday that a strike on a healthcare facility in Sudan left 64 people dead and 89 wounded.
The UN humanitarian office in Sudan said it was “appalled by the attack on a hospital in East Darfur yesterday, reportedly killing dozens, including children, and injuring more.” A Sudanese rights group, the Emergency Lawyers, which tracks atrocities in the conflict between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), reported that an army drone strike hit the El-Daein teaching hospital.
The RSF controls much of western Darfur, while the army holds sway in the east, centre and north. The WHO’s attacks-on-health surveillance marked Friday’s incident as “confirmed” but did not provide an exact location. The record said the attack involved “violence with heavy weapons” and affected a secondary health care facility, medical staff, patients, supplies and storage.
The WHO verifies and records attacks on health care but does not assign blame, as it is not an investigative body.
El-Daein, the RSF-held capital of East Darfur, has been frequently struck by the army, which has been trying to push the paramilitary back toward its Darfur strongholds and away from Sudan’s central corridor. Earlier this month an army strike on the city’s market ignited oil barrels that burned for hours.
Near-daily drone strikes have become a grim feature of Sudan’s war, often killing dozens at a time, especially in southern Kordofan. UN human rights chief Volker Türk said he was “appalled” after more than 200 civilians were reported killed by drone attacks over an eight-day span, and warned that parties to the conflict are using increasingly powerful drones to deliver explosive weapons with wide-area effects in populated areas.
Hospitals have been repeatedly targeted throughout the conflict. By December, UN figures showed more than 1,800 people had been killed in attacks on health facilities since the war began, including 173 health workers. So far this year, 12 attacks on health care have been recorded in Sudan, resulting in 178 deaths and 237 injuries.
The wider conflict has killed tens of thousands and displaced over 11 million people. It has driven what the UN calls the world’s largest displacement and hunger crises, with more than 33 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.
