Main Hospital in Sudan’s Al-Fashir City Forced to Close After Attack

The main hospital in al-Fashir city, Sudan, has been attacked by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and forced out of service, according to Doctors Without Borders (MSF). The hospital, supported by MSF, was the only facility in al-Fashir capable of handling mass casualty events, and its closure leaves the city’s 1.8 million residents and displaced people without access to medical care.

The attack is the latest development in the war between the Sudanese army and the RSF, which began in April 2023 and has displaced over 130,000 people in al-Fashir. The RSF has taken over the capital Khartoum and most of western Sudan, and is seeking to advance further into the center of the country, despite warnings from the United Nations that the people of Sudan are at “imminent risk of famine”.

The hospital had been targeted multiple times since May 25, with patients and staff forced to evacuate on several occasions. On June 6, the RSF opened fire inside the hospital, forcing the remaining patients and staff to flee.

MSF has condemned the attack, stating that it is “outrageous” and “crosses a line”. The organization has reported that 1,315 wounded people arrived at the hospital between May 10 and June 6, with 208 deaths.

The al-Fashir Emergency Response Room has reported that several people were killed and injured in the attack, and that medicine and an ambulance were looted. Eyewitnesses have reported seeing people evacuating the hospital, and that the RSF launched missiles at the hospital and its vicinity.

A separate attack on Saturday on the Abu Shouk camp to the north of the city impacted another medical centre, injuring over 30 and killing at least two. Local residents have blamed the RSF for the attacks, which have left many without access to medical care or a safe route to flee the city.