At least 460 people have been killed in El Fasher, Sudan, after the Rapid Support Force (RSF) paramilitary group launched an assault on the city's last functioning hospital. The Saudi Maternity Hospital, which had remained operational despite severe supply shortages and heavy shelling, became the scene of a massacre as vulnerable patients and staff were targeted.
Witnesses reported that RSF fighters conducted house-to-house sweeps, beating and shooting civilians including women and children. Satellite imagery analysed by the Yale School of Public Health Humanitarian Research Lab showed vast pools of blood and bodies in the sand. More than 2,000 people are believed to have been killed in the past 48 hours following the end of an 18-month siege.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) expressed deep shock and horror at the incident. Six health workers, including a nurse and a pharmacist, were abducted from the hospital on Tuesday. On the same day, more than 460 patients and their companions were reportedly shot and killed on the premises. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus called for the protection of health facilities, workers, and patients under international law.
The attack marks a significant escalation in the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF, which has been ongoing since April 2023. The war has caused widespread devastation and displacement, with famine and disease becoming rampant. According to the United Nations, more than 40 per cent of the population—24 million people—are food insecure, and over four million have fled to neighbouring Chad, South Sudan, and the Central African Republic.
The UN's top relief official urged the Security Council to take immediate and robust action to stop atrocities, ensure safe humanitarian access, and halt the flow of weapons fuelling the conflict. “I urge colleagues to study the world’s continued failure to stop this. Blood on the hands,” the official said.
