A drone strike on the El-Daein teaching hospital in East Darfur, Sudan, has killed 64 people and wounded 89, the World Health Organization (WHO) reported on Saturday. The incident occurred on Friday and was marked as "confirmed" by WHO's surveillance system for attacks on health care, though the exact location was not specified in the initial report.
The UN’s humanitarian office in Sudan stated it was "appalled by the attack on a hospital in East Darfur," which reportedly killed dozens, including children, and injured many more. The Sudanese rights group Emergency Lawyers, which documents atrocities in the war between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), attributed the strike to an army drone, highlighting the ongoing brutality in the conflict.
The RSF dominates the vast western Darfur region, while the army controls Sudan’s east, centre, and north. El-Daein, the RSF-controlled state capital of East Darfur, has been regularly targeted by army attacks as it seeks to push the paramilitary back toward its Darfur strongholds and away from Sudan’s central corridor. This attack follows a recent strike on the city’s market earlier this month that ignited oil barrels, burning for hours.
The WHO records and verifies attacks on health care but does not assign blame, as it is not an investigative agency. The attack involved "violence with heavy weapons" and affected a secondary health care facility, medical personnel, patients, supplies, and storage, according to WHO records.
Hospitals have been a frequent target throughout the war, despite repeated condemnation from the UN. By December, more than 1,800 people, including 173 health workers, had been killed in attacks on health facilities since the conflict began. This year, 12 attacks on health care in Sudan have been recorded, resulting in 178 deaths and 237 injuries.
The war has killed tens of thousands across Sudan and displaced more than 11 million people, fueling what the UN describes as the world’s largest displacement and hunger crises. Over 33 million people are in need of humanitarian aid, underscoring the severe humanitarian toll of the ongoing conflict.
Source: www.theguardian.com