WHO says about 70 people were killed in attack on hospital in El Fasher

WHO says about 70 people were killed in attack on hospital in El Fasher

Event date: 2025-01-25

Around 70 people were killed in an attack on the Saudi Teaching Maternal Hospital in El Fasher, Sudan, according to the World Health Organization chief and an AP report. The hospital is one of the last functioning health facilities in the besieged city, making the attack one of the most alarming recent episodes in Sudan’s war.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the strike left 19 people injured and 70 dead among patients and companions. He said the hospital was packed with people receiving care at the time. The AP report noted that local officials had already cited a similar figure, but Tedros was the first international source to give a casualty number.

The attack was blamed by local officials on the Rapid Support Forces, though neither the WHO chief nor the AP report said the RSF had acknowledged responsibility. The RSF later issued a statement blaming Sudan’s military and its allies, but offered no evidence. That leaves the attribution contested, and the article should reflect that uncertainty rather than resolve it.

The hospital lies in a city that has been under RSF siege since May 2024 and has repeatedly come under shelling. The AP report said the facility is near El Fasher’s airport and that doctors there have continued surgeries even during attacks. That makes the hospital both a medical lifeline and a front-line target in a war that has already devastated civilian infrastructure.

The broader context is grim. The conflict between the RSF and the Sudanese army began in April 2023 and has killed more than 28,000 people, displaced millions and driven parts of the country toward famine. The AP report also said the UN had warned in December that the RSF siege had killed 782 civilians in El Fasher and wounded more than 1,140, with the real figures likely higher.

The attack on a hospital is particularly significant because it hits civilians where they are least able to protect themselves. Even where combat claims are disputed, the death toll and injury count make the human cost clear. The hospital was described as one of the few functioning facilities left in the city, so the strike also has immediate consequences for access to care.

For now, the verified story is that a hospital in El Fasher was hit, roughly 70 people were killed, 19 were injured and neither side’s battlefield account has been independently confirmed. In Sudan’s war, that combination of mass casualties and contested blame has become tragically familiar.