Sudan's army has denied it carried out a deadly attack on a major hospital on Friday night in a city held by its paramilitary rivals, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The head of the World Health Organization (WHO) reported that 64 people, including 13 children, two nurses, and a doctor, died in the strike on el-Daein Teaching Hospital, with 89 others wounded.
Enough blood has been spilled, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated on social media, urging the warring parties to cease hostilities, which have persisted for nearly three years.
The RSF claimed that an army drone struck the hospital in el-Daein, the capital of East Darfur state, on the day when Muslims were celebrating Eid.
The ongoing civil war in Sudan erupted in April 2023 between military factions and the RSF, leading to over 150,000 casualties and displacing nearly a third of the population in a crisis labeled by the UN as the world's most severe humanitarian disaster.
The WHO chief condemned the frequent assaults on medical facilities, noting 2,036 deaths in 213 attacks on healthcare during the conflict, including this recent attack. He called for de-escalation and the protection of civilians, healthcare workers, and humanitarian aid providers.
Recent fighting has turned East Darfur into a key battleground, impacting vital supply routes to the capital, Khartoum, which was reclaimed by the army last year. Despite international peace efforts, the violence continues to escalate, affecting civilians dramatically as muted Eid celebrations occur across the nation.
