“Another appalling attack” on a hospital in Sudan has seen more than 40 people killed, many of them children and medics, the head of the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.
“We cannot say this louder,” wrote Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on X on Tuesday, “attacks on health must stop everywhere!”
The assault on Al-Mujlad Hospital occurred Saturday in West Kordofan state, a region close to the fierce battle zones between Sudan’s rival factions, now locked in conflict for a third straight year.
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have accused the Sudanese military of targeting the facility—a claim echoed by two major civil society organizations—while the army has so far remained silent on the matter.
Since fighting broke out in April 2023, Sudan has descended into what the UN describes as the worst humanitarian catastrophe globally.
In addition to reports of mass killings in Darfur and elsewhere, plus millions driven from their homes, both military sides have been implicated in assaults on hospitals, medical staff, and clinics, according to verified evidence.
Al-Mujlad Hospital, based in Muglad town, had been “the only functioning healthcare facility in the area”, the Sudan Doctors Network stated.
Of the 40 confirmed fatalities, six were children and five were healthcare personnel, the WHO office in Sudan reported on Sunday. Numerous others were wounded during the strike.
The hospital was home to a dialysis unit and catered specifically to civilians rather than fighters, according to Emergency Lawyers, a group tracking violations by both the army and RSF.
The Sudan Doctors Network and Emergency Lawyers have both laid blame for the destruction on the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).
The doctors’ organization claims the motive for the attack was an attempt by the military to eliminate RSF forces allegedly “stationed inside” Al-Mujlad Hospital. The RSF has not responded to this allegation, and the army has not issued any comment either.
Meanwhile, the head of UNICEF raised alarm Monday over a “worsening crisis” facing Sudanese children and noted that the humanitarian aid appeal remains largely unfunded.
Speaking from Chad, Catherine Russell reported that “hundreds of thousands of the most vulnerable children are bearing the brunt of both the war in Sudan and a lack of essential services for those who have fled to Chad”.
Many of these children are “malnourished, out of school, and at serious risk of exploitation and disease”, she added.
Disturbingly, reports continue to emerge of armed groups committing rape and sexual violence against minors—including children as young as one year old. Some victims have even attempted to take their own lives following such brutal assaults.
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