A strike on a health facility in Sudan killed 64 people and wounded 89, the World Health Organization said on Saturday. The UN’s 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.”
Sudanese rights group Emergency Lawyers, which tracks abuses in the conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), reported that an army drone struck El-Daein teaching hospital. The WHO’s attack-surveillance system marked Friday’s incident as “confirmed” but did not give an exact location. Its record described the event as involving “violence with heavy weapons” and said it affected a secondary health-care facility, medical staff, patients, supplies and storage. The WHO counts and verifies attacks on health care but does not assign blame, noting it is not an investigative body.
El-Daein, the RSF-controlled capital of East Darfur, has repeatedly come under army attack as forces seek 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 hallmark of the war, often killing dozens in single attacks, especially in southern Kordofan. UN human rights chief Volker Türk said he was “appalled” after reports that more than 200 civilians were killed by drone strikes within eight days, and warned that parties are increasingly using powerful drones to deploy explosive weapons with wide-area impacts in populated areas.
Hospitals have been frequent targets throughout the conflict. By December, the UN said more than 1,800 people had been killed in attacks on health facilities since the fighting began, including 173 health workers. This year, 12 recorded attacks on health care in Sudan have caused 178 deaths and 237 injuries.
Across Sudan, the war has killed tens of thousands and displaced over 11 million people, fueling what the UN calls the world’s largest displacement and hunger crises, with more than 33 million people in need of humanitarian assistance.