MSF: ‘Essential hospital in North Darfur capital shut after latest attack’

All activities at the Southern Hospital in El Fasher, capital of North Darfur, have been suspended following the latest attacks, and patients are being transferred to different medical facilities, although those facilities might not be able to cope with the demand, according to an emergency press statement by international NGO, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).

In the statement, MSF says that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attacked the El Fasher Southern Hospital on Saturday, leading to the suspension of all activities in the hospital. According to the organisation, the attack involved gunfire within the hospital, looting, and the theft of an ambulance. Due to the chaotic situation, the organisation has been unable to verify whether any people were killed or wounded by the shooting”.

“It is outrageous that the RSF opened fire inside the hospital. This is not an isolated incident – staff and patients have endured attacks on the facility for weeks from all sides, but opening fire inside a hospital crosses a line,” said Michel Lacharite, head of MSF emergencies.

This incident has left the city without a facility equipped to handle mass casualties, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis in the region. “Remaining facilities in El Fasher aren’t prepared for mass casualties, we are trying to find solutions, but the responsibility lies with warring parties to spare medical facilities” says Lacharite. Between May 10 and June 6, South, more than 1,300 people sought treatment in the El Fasher Southern Hospital.

The patients of Southern Hospital are currently being transferred to the Paediatric Hospital and the Saudi Hospital, though the organisation states how these facilities were not designed to cope with the high influx of people. MSF had previously reported that the hospital faced intense mortar shelling between May 25 – June 3, resulting in the death of two and wounding of 14 patients.

In a separate post on X (formerly Twitter), MSF says: As Doctors Without Borders (MSF), we protect both medical personnel and patients. Healthcare workers should not be threatened, assaulted, manipulated, detained, or hindered from doing their medical duties.

Radio Dabanga recently reported on the hospital in regards to this development and with past events, as Wednesday saw the evacuation of patients from the El Fasher Southern Hospital due to clashes between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in the area. On May 26, MSF had reported that a mortar shell killed a staff member in El Fasher main market area.

El Fasher, home to about 1.5 million people, including about 800,000 displaced people, is the last of the five Darfur state capitals not under RSF control. Residents fear that full RSF control of the city could ignite strife between the Arab tribes supporting the RSF and the Zaghawa tribe, from which most fighters of the North Darfur rebel forces hail. Zaghawa leaders have allegedly contacted Chadian President Mahamet Deby, also a Zaghawa, asking him to intervene to prevent a “catastrophic bloodbath” in the area.

The international community have made multiple calls to the warring parties to deescalate the violence and restore unimpeded humanitarian access however to no avail. US Ambassador to the United Nations, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, in May, warned of an imminent “a large-scale massacre” in the North Darfur capital.