A minimum of 13 individuals have been killed after an assault on one of the final operational healthcare facilities in el-Fasher, a Sudanese city trapped under blockade.
Sixteen additional individuals, including a medical professional and nursing staff, were wounded after the armed group Rapid Support Forces targeted Saudi hospital several times on Tuesday after dark, according to witnesses.
Photographs revealed smashed windows, cracks from explosive fragments, a gaping hole in the earthen wall and bent steel from hospital beds covering the floor.
A collective of Sudanese medical professionals has described the attack a violation of international law. The RSF has been surrounding el-Fasher for over a year and a half, leaving numerous people stranded in the city experiencing famine.
Growing Warfare in Strategic Darfur Municipality
The paramilitary group is battling the military for total authority of el-Fasher, the last military stronghold in the expansive Darfur region.
This marks the second assault on the Saudi hospital this year - the previous in January killed three minors and harmed three additional people.
The latest shelling devastated sections of the hospital, wrecking treatment sections.
Humanitarian Catastrophe Worsens
In the past few weeks, the RSF has escalated its offensive on the city, leading experts to conclude the city could collapse imminently unless the army obtains prompt backup forces.
The combatants have been engaged in a intense civil war for exceeding two years, creating the world's worst humanitarian disaster and numerous of deaths.
The unending hostilities in el-Fasher has compelled most hospitals to close. Aid convoys carrying food and medical care have been blocked from arriving at civilians.
"After in excess of 500 days of unremitting blockade by the RSF and ongoing fighting, El Fasher is on the precipice of an even greater catastrophe if immediate actions are not taken to ease the military grip upon the city and to defend non-combatants," stated a senior UN official in recent days.
Critical Situation for Healthcare
- Multiple health facilities have been compelled to close due to continuing hostilities
- Healthcare resources are running low rapidly throughout the surrounded city
- Global humanitarian groups face significant obstacles in delivering vital help
- The local residents faces increasing treatment challenges without sufficient treatment
The situation in el-Fasher marks one of the gravest humanitarian emergencies currently unfolding globally, with urgent measures necessary to avoid further loss of life.
