El Fasher hospital shelled again, two dead

January 4, 2024 (EL FASHER) – Two people were killed and two others wounded on Saturday when the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) shelled the Saudi Hospital in El Fasher, the latest attack on the facility struggling to operate amid a severe shortage of medical supplies.

El Fasher, the historical capital of Sudan’s Darfur region, has been engulfed in fighting since May between the army and its allies against the paramilitary RSF.

“The renewed shelling resulted in the death of two civilians and the injury of two hospital staff,” Ibrahim Khater, Director General of the Ministry of Health in North Darfur state, told Reuters. “This is the fourteenth attack on the hospital.”

Khater said the Saudi Hospital is facing a critical shortage of medical supplies and medicines, exacerbated by a lack of medical personnel who have fled due to the ongoing violence.

“The hospital is operating at a very limited capacity, restricted to emergency maternity cases, despite being the only hospital dedicated to women’s and maternity care in El Fasher,” he added.

Khater condemned the shelling of health facilities as a clear violation of international law.

Most hospitals in El Fasher have been forced to shut down, either due to direct targeting by RSF artillery or because they are located within the crossfire of the ongoing conflict.