At least 64 people were killed in a strike on a hospital in East Darfur, Sudan, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) said.
WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said Saturday night the dead from Friday’s attack on the Al Deain Teaching Hospital include 13 children, medical staff and multiple patients. He said the strike had rendered the hospital “non-functional.”
Rights group Emergency Lawyers attributed the attack to a Sudanese army drone strike. Tedros said 89 people were also wounded.
The WHO chief added that more than 2,000 people have been killed in over 200 attacks on health facilities since the civil war in Sudan began in April 2023. “Enough blood has been spilled. Enough suffering has been inflicted. The time has come to de-escalate the conflict in Sudan and ensure the protection of civilians, health workers, and humanitarians,” he wrote on X. “Health care should never be a target. Peace is the best medicine.”
The war began in April 2023 after a power struggle over integrating the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) into the Sudanese army. Global aid organizations estimate up to 250,000 people have been killed, up to 14 million displaced, and about half the population faces hunger. The conflict has produced what aid groups call the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, including mass killings and widespread sexual violence.
The RSF controls much of western Sudan, including Darfur, while the army holds the east, center and north. Sudan’s army has regularly attacked El Daein, an RSF-held town where the struck hospital is located.
Edited by: Alex Berry
