An airstrike on a hospital in Sudan’s Darfur region killed at least 64 people, the World Health Organization said Sunday, as the country’s warring sides traded blame.
The strike hit Al-Daein Teaching Hospital in East Darfur State, an area controlled by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, on Friday evening. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said 13 children, two nurses, a doctor and several patients were among the dead.
At least 89 others were wounded, including eight health workers, he said. The blast damaged the hospital’s pediatric, maternity and emergency departments, rendering the facility nonfunctional.
The WHO said it is expanding support to other health facilities, strengthening primary care services and deploying trauma supplies and essential medicines.
Sudan has been engulfed in war since April 2023, when tensions between the military and the RSF escalated into open conflict following a dispute over the country’s political transition and plans to integrate the paramilitary force into the army.
The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, though the exact toll is unclear. The United Nations says more than 11.6 million people have been displaced, including 4.4 million who have fled to neighboring countries.
Both sides have been accused of war crimes, while the RSF also faces allegations of crimes against humanity. The United States has said the RSF and allied militias are committing genocide in Darfur.
In separate statements, the two sides blamed each other for the hospital strike.
The RSF accused the Sudanese Armed Forces of carrying out the attack, calling it a “full-fledged war crime” and a violation of international humanitarian law.
An army spokesman said the military received the accusations with “astonishment,” adding that the strike bore the hallmarks of the RSF.
“The Sudanese Armed Forces affirms that it is a regular force committed to international law and norms,” the spokesman said, accusing the RSF of a pattern of similar attacks.
The RSF has previously been accused of targeting medical facilities. On March 2, a strike on the British Hospital in El Obeid injured 12 people.
Both sides called on the international community to hold the other accountable.
Ghebreyesus said 2,036 people have been killed in 213 attacks on health facilities during the conflict, with more than 720 others injured.
“In an instant, a place of healing was turned into a scene of devastation,” said Hanan Balkhy, the WHO’s regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean.
“And for families in the surrounding area, one of the few places to seek care is now gone.”