Thirteen Killed as Hospital Shelled in Besieged Sudanese City
3 min read
RSF shelling of Saudi Hospital in El-Fasher kills 13, further crippling healthcare in the besieged city.
Deadly attack on El-Fasher’s Saudi Hospital deepens humanitarian crisis amid 17-month siege.
At least 13 people have been killed and 16 others injured after Rapid Support Forces (RSF) shelled one of the last functioning hospitals in El-Fasher, a city in Sudan’s Darfur region that has been under siege for over 17 months.
According to hospital sources who spoke to BBC News, the shelling on Tuesday night struck Saudi Hospital several times, killing patients and injuring medical staff including a doctor and a nurse.
Sudanese medics have condemned the strike as a war crime.
Scenes of Devastation
Images shared from the hospital showed shattered windows, large cracks caused by shrapnel, and a gaping hole in a mud-brick wall. Twisted metal frames of hospital beds lay scattered across the floor, a stark symbol of the relentless violence gripping the city.
This was the second attack on the facility this year — the first, in January, killed three children and injured three others. The latest strike destroyed several wards, further limiting access to medical care for thousands of civilians trapped in the city.
City Under Siege
The RSF has besieged El-Fasher since mid-2023, cutting off food, medical supplies, and humanitarian aid. The city remains the army’s last major stronghold in the Darfur region.
Experts warn that without immediate reinforcements, El-Fasher could soon fall completely to the RSF. The ongoing battle for control has left hundreds of thousands of civilians facing starvation and severe health crises.
Fortified Blockade
New research shows the RSF has completed a 57-kilometre earthen wall encircling the city, sealing off all major exit routes. Satellite analysis by Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab revealed the wall
Omega Tv UK celebrates ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY, we wish to thank all our viewers for helping us reach this milestone.
Happy 1st anniversary to Omega TV UK!.
or berm — was constructed between May and October.
Civilians attempting to flee have reported extortion, arbitrary detention, disappearances, and sexual violence at RSF checkpoints.
Worsening Humanitarian Crisis
Most health facilities in El-Fasher have already shut down due to the fighting, leaving Saudi Hospital as one of the last places where residents could seek care. Now, with the facility severely damaged, thousands are left with nowhere to turn.
Food convoys and humanitarian aid have been repeatedly blocked, worsening what the UN calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Tens of thousands of people have been killed since the civil war erupted over two years ago.
International Alarm
“After over 500 days of unremitting siege by the RSF and incessant fighting, El Fasher is on the precipice of an even greater catastrophe if urgent measures are not taken to loosen the armed vice upon the city and to protect civilians,” warned Volker Türk, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, last week.
The UN and humanitarian organizations continue to call for immediate ceasefire agreements, humanitarian corridors, and protection of civilians under international law.
About The Author
