Hundreds of civilians were killed inside a hospital in Sudan after paramilitary and anti-government militants in the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) took control of the city of El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur. The atrocities come as the Sudan's army chief withdrew his soldiers from the stronghold in Dafur.
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said roughly 460 people were killed at the Saudi Maternity Hospital in El-Fasher, calling the reports “appalling and deeply shocking.” The Sudan Doctors Network said RSF fighters “cold-bloodedly killed everyone they found inside the hospital,” including women, children, patients, and medical staff.
According to the Associated Press, Darfur Governor Mini Minawi shared video footage allegedly showing RSF fighters inside the hospital, where bodies were seen lying in pools of blood.
“The Janjaweed showed no mercy for anyone,” said Umm Amena, a mother of four who fled the city on Monday. She told AP she was among three dozen people detained by RSF fighters in an abandoned house near the hospital before escaping to the nearby town of Tawila. The United Nations has reported that more than 36,000 people have fled El-Fasher since last Sunday.
RSF commander Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo acknowledged in a statement on Telegram that “abuses” had occurred and said an investigation was underway, though he offered no details.
The Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab released a report last week confirming that RSF fighters have continued to commit mass killings since taking control of El-Fasher. Satellite imagery analyzed by the lab supported claims of executions and mass graves near the Saudi Maternity Hospital and a detention center at a former children’s hospital. The report stated that “systematic killings” occurred along the eastern wall constructed by the RSF outside the city earlier this year.
Sudan researcher Mohamed Osman, with the group Human Rights Watch, said footage coming from the ground “reveals a horrifying truth: the Rapid Support Forces feel free to carry out mass atrocities with little fear of consequences.”
“The world needs to act to protect civilians from more heinous crimes,” Osman said.
World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said roughly 460 people were killed at the Saudi Maternity Hospital in El-Fasher, calling the reports “appalling and deeply shocking.” The Sudan Doctors Network said RSF fighters “cold-bloodedly killed everyone they found inside the hospital,” including women, children, patients, and medical staff.
According to the Associated Press, Darfur Governor Mini Minawi shared video footage allegedly showing RSF fighters inside the hospital, where bodies were seen lying in pools of blood.
“The Janjaweed showed no mercy for anyone,” said Umm Amena, a mother of four who fled the city on Monday. She told AP she was among three dozen people detained by RSF fighters in an abandoned house near the hospital before escaping to the nearby town of Tawila. The United Nations has reported that more than 36,000 people have fled El-Fasher since last Sunday.
RSF commander Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo acknowledged in a statement on Telegram that “abuses” had occurred and said an investigation was underway, though he offered no details.
The Yale School of Public Health’s Humanitarian Research Lab released a report last week confirming that RSF fighters have continued to commit mass killings since taking control of El-Fasher. Satellite imagery analyzed by the lab supported claims of executions and mass graves near the Saudi Maternity Hospital and a detention center at a former children’s hospital. The report stated that “systematic killings” occurred along the eastern wall constructed by the RSF outside the city earlier this year.
Sudan researcher Mohamed Osman, with the group Human Rights Watch, said footage coming from the ground “reveals a horrifying truth: the Rapid Support Forces feel free to carry out mass atrocities with little fear of consequences.”
“The world needs to act to protect civilians from more heinous crimes,” Osman said.
