The remaining operating hospital in Sudan’s El Fasher could close its doors following recent attacks that left thousands cut off from medical and health services, further plunging civilians into a health crisis.
Development Diaries reports that El Fasher’s only operating hospital, Al Saudi Hospital, was attacked on 11 August as warring parties continue to ignore humanitarian laws that protect civilians and health facilities amidst conflict.
We understand that multiple attacks on the city took place over the last week, resulting in the increased number of wounded people arriving at the hospital, according to Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
Recall that we earlier reported the attack on MSF-supported Turkish Hospital in Khartoum, forcing MSF to suspend its support services as the health facility.
The attack on Al Saudi Hospital is the 11th time a hospital in the city has been hit since fighting escalated in May 2024.
The surgical ward of the MSF-supported hospital was hit during a bombardment, killing the carer of a patient and injuring five others, while the maternity unit was also damaged.
‘For more than three months, people in El Fasher have been under constant bombardment’, head of MSF’s emergency operations, Michel Olivier Lacharité, said in a statement.
‘Shelling from both sides has impacted on the city resulting in over 2,500 casualties arriving at MSF-supported hospitals and more than 370 of these patients passing away from their injuries. The number of victims of the conflict is unknown.
‘Sunday’s attack on Saudi hospital, which is the largest hospital in North Darfur state, makes it crystal clear that the warring parties are making no efforts to protect health facilities or the civilians inside them’.
Warring parties continue to violate international humanitarian laws that guarantee civilian safety and that of health facilities, shutting the door for essential health services to the detriment of the people.
Development Diaries reiterates its call to the warring parties in Sudan, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), to stop the attacks on civilians and health care facilities as enshrined in the international humanitarian law.
Photo source: MSF
