The World Health Organization said Wednesday it was appalled by reports that more than 460 patients and their companions were shot dead at the last partially-functional hospital in Sudan’s El-Fasher.
The capture of El-Fasher on Sunday after an 18-month siege has solidified the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces’ control over Darfur, sparking fears of ethnically motivated violence reminiscent of the western region’s darkest days.
“WHO is appalled and deeply shocked by reports of the tragic killing of more than 460 patients and companions at Saudi Maternity Hospital in El-Fasher,” the UN health agency’s chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a statement.
“All attacks on health care must stop immediately and unconditionally,” he said, calling for a ceasefire, and insisting that all patients, healthcare workers and health facilities must be protected.
The WHO said the Saudi Maternity Hospital was the only partially functioning hospital in the city.
It was attacked on Sunday “for the fourth time in a month”, with a nurse killed and three other health workers wounded, the organisation said.
On Tuesday, six health workers, four doctors, a nurse and a pharmacist were abducted, it added.
“On the same day, more than 460 patients and their companions were reportedly shot and killed in the hospital,” the WHO said.
“This latest tragedy is taking place in the rapidly worsening crisis in North Darfur’s El-Fasher, where escalating violence, siege conditions and rising hunger and disease are killing civilians, including children, and collapsing an already-fragile health system,” it said.
“ WHO condemns these horrific attacks on health care in the strongest terms and calls for the respect of the sanctity of health care.”
– ‘Horrifying atrocities’ –
The International Committee of the Red Cross said it was “deeply alarmed and profoundly shocked” by growing reports of “horrifying atrocities and immense suffering to which people from El-Fasher are being subjected”.
Tedros said that prior to the maternity hospital attack, the WHO had verified 185 attacks on health care in Sudan, with 1,204 deaths and 416 injuries of health workers and patients since the conflict began in April 2023.
Of those, 49 occurred this year, killing 966 people.
While the WHO counts and verifies attacks on health care, it does not attribute blame.
El-Fasher has been cut off from humanitarian aid since February.
Malnutrition is rising sharply, the WHO said, weakening immunity and heightening vulnerability to cholera, malaria, and other infectious diseases.
The WHO said cholera was spreading rapidly due to the lack of access to safe water, while disease surveillance and response activities have plunged due to the deteriorating security.
This year alone, El-Fasher has reported 272 suspected cases of cholera and 32 deaths, the WHO said, giving an an “alarming case fatality rate” of nearly 12 percent.
Cholera can kill within hours when not attended to, though it can be treated with simple oral rehydration, and antibiotics for more severe cases.
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© Agence France-Presse
