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Sudan’s army has denied it carried out a deadly attack on a major hospital on Friday night in a city in the west of the country held by its rivals, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).<\/p>\n
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said that 64 people – including 13 children, two nurses and a doctor – had died in the strike on el-Daein Teaching Hospital and 89 others had been wounded.<\/p>\n
“Enough blood has been spilled,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus posted on X, urging the warring parties to end the conflict, which started nearly three years ago.<\/p>\n
The RSF said an army drone had hit the hospital in el-Daein, the capital of East Darfur state, on the day Muslims were marking the festival of Eid.<\/p>\n
Sudan was plunged into a civil war in April 2023 when a vicious struggle for power broke out between the military and the RSF, who had once been allies after coming to power in a coup in 2021.<\/p>\n
More than 150,000 people have since died in the conflict and about 12 million have fled their homes – nearly a third of the country’s population – in what the United Nations has called the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.<\/p>\n
Dr Tedros, who said el-Daein Teaching Hospital was no longer able to function following Friday night’s attack, condemned the frequent targeting of medical facilities.<\/p>\n
“Over the nearly three-year conflict, WHO has confirmed that 2,036 people have been killed in 213 attacks on health care, including Friday night’s strike,” the WHO chief said in his tweet<\/a>.<\/p>\n “The time has come to de-escalate the conflict in Sudan and ensure the protection of civilians, health workers, and humanitarians,” he said.<\/p>\n “Health care should never be a target. Peace is the best medicine.”<\/p>\n In a statement, the RSF said the strike had completely destroyed the hospital’s top floor, caused extensive damage to the accident and emergency department and destroyed vital medical equipment.<\/p>\n In response, the military said it was surprised by the accusation it was behind the attack, adding that it abided by “international norms and laws”.<\/p>\n The Emergency Lawyers group has called for an independent and transparent investigation and for those responsible to be brought to justice.<\/p>\n The local rights organisation, which has documented atrocities by both the army and the RSF throughout the war, said the hospital in el-Daein was a vital health facility relied upon by thousands of civilians in the city and surrounding villages.<\/p>\n