Shocking Sudan Hospital Massacre Sparks Outrage: Rights Groups Demand Justice Amid Mass Exodus
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Sudan’s paramilitary forces killed hundreds of people, including patients in a hospital, after they seized the city of Al-Fasher in the western Darfur region over the weekend, according to the United Nations and displaced residents and aid workers.
The 460 patients and companions were reportedly killed at Saudi Maternity Hospital in Al-Fasher, the provincial capital of North Darfur, World Health Organization (WHO) director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement, adding the WHO was “appalled and deeply shocked” by the reports.
The Sudan Doctors Network, a medical group tracking the war, said fighters from the Rapid Support Forces on Tuesday “cold-bloodedly killed everyone they found inside the Saudi Hospital, including patients, their companions, and anyone else present in the wards”.
United Nations spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric condemned the violence.
“Today, we were horrified by reports of the tragic killings of more than 460 people, both patients and their companions, at the Saudi Maternity Hospital in El-Fasher,” Dujarric said.
In a grim development, more than 460 patients and their companions were reportedly killed at Saudi Maternity Hospital, underscoring the escalating violence in Sudan. This tragedy adds to the already staggering toll of 1,204 deaths and 416 injuries among health workers and patients, as verified by the World Health Organization (WHO) since the outbreak of conflict in April 2023.
The conflict has also seen the abduction of numerous health workers, further complicating efforts to provide essential medical care. Prior to this latest atrocity, WHO had documented 185 attacks on healthcare facilities across the nation, highlighting the perilous situation for medical personnel and the people they serve.
The Sudanese residents and aid workers have recounted chilling tales of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) committing severe acts as they strive to seize control of the country, Africa’s third-largest by size. The RSF recently captured the army’s final bastion in Darfur, concluding a relentless siege that lasted more than 500 days.
The RSF has been accused by the UN and rights groups of atrocities throughout the war, including a 2023 attack on another Darfur city, Geneina, where hundreds of people were killed.
Amena was among three dozen people, mostly women and children, who were detained for a day by RSF fighters in an abandoned house close to the Saudi Hospital in Al-Fasher.
Since Sunday, more than 33,000 people have fled Al-Fasher for the town of Tawila, about 70km to the west, which has already welcomed more than 650,000 displaced people, the UN says.
Around 177,000 people remain in Al-Fasher, which had a population of more than one million before the war, according to UN figures.
UN refugee agency official Jacqueline Wilma Parlevliet said that the new arrivals told stories of widespread ethnic and politically motivated killings, including reports of people with disabilities shot dead because they were unable to flee, and others shot as they tried to escape.
Witnesses told the Associated Press that RSF fighters — on foot, riding on camels, or in vehicles — went from house to house, beating and shooting at people, including women and children. Many died of gunshot wounds in the streets, some while trying to flee to safety, the witnesses said.
Footage of the attacks triggered a wave of outrage around the world. France, Germany, the UK and the European Union all condemned the atrocities.
Mohamed Osman, Sudan researcher with Human Rights Watch, said that footage coming out of Al-Fasher “reveals a horrifying truth: the Rapid Support Forces feel free to carry out mass atrocities with little fear of consequences”.
“The world needs to act to protect civilians from more heinous crimes,” he said.
