DUBAI – Some 70 people have been killed in an attack on the only functional hospital in the besieged city of El Fasher in Sudan, the chief of the World Health Organization said Sunday.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus offered the figure in a post on the social platform X.

Officials and others in the capital of North Darfur province had cited a similar figure Saturday, but Ghebreyesus is the first international source to provide a casualty number.

“The appalling attack on Saudi Hospital in El Fasher, Sudan, led to 19 injuries and 70 deaths among patients and companions,” he wrote. “At the time of the attack, the hospital was packed with patients receiving care.”

He did not identify who launched the attack, though local officials had blamed the rebel Rapid Support Force for the assault. The RSF did not immediately acknowledge the accusation, but have been threatening El Fasher in recent days.