WHO Condemns Sudan Violence: Patient & Civilian Killings in El Fasher
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El Fasher Hospital Attack: WHO Condemns Killings and Abductions in North Darfur
Table of Contents
october 30, 2023
The Incident: A Massacre at the Saudi Maternity Hospital
The World Health Organization (WHO) has strongly condemned the reported killing of more than 460 patients and their companions, as well as the abduction of six health workers, on October 28th from the Saudi Maternity Hospital in El Fasher, North Darfur. This tragedy unfolds amidst a rapidly worsening crisis in the region, characterized by escalating violence, siege conditions, and a critical lack of food, clean water, and medical care.
The Saudi Maternity Hospital, the only partially functioning hospital in El Fasher, had been attacked previously on four occasions in the month leading up to the October 28th incident. A nurse was killed and three health workers injured in the attack on October 26th. On the 28th, six health workers – four doctors, a nurse, and a pharmacist – were abducted alongside the mass killing of patients.
The Wider Crisis in North Darfur
The situation in El Fasher is dire. More than 260,000 people remain trapped in the town with almost no access to basic necessities.Escalating violence has recently forced approximately 28,000 people to flee El Fasher, with the majority seeking refuge in rural areas of El Fasher and Tawila. An estimated 100,000 more people are expected to move to tawila in the coming weeks, adding to the 575,000 already displaced from El Fasher who are sheltering there and in other areas.
The conflict has already claimed the lives of 46 health workers in El Fasher, including the Director of