MSF: ‘Protection needed for El Fasher hospitals’

Ongoing attacks on hospitals continue to prevent external assistance from reaching the North Darfur capital of El Fasher due to the intensity of the violence. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF)  has called on the warring parties to protect civilians and hospitals and to provide safe access to the area to ensure that they can continue to offer assistance.

In a statement yesterday, MSF reported that on Friday 21, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) shelled the pharmacy of the MSF-supported Saudi Hospital in the city.. This attack resulted in the death of a pharmacist and caused damage to the building.

Although the hospital remains open and continues to treat patients, it is only partially operational due to the damage sustained. More supplies are urgently needed to treat the wounded, amid fears of further attacks as fighting continues near the hospital. On Thursday, one person was killed just 200 metres from the hospital, and another died near the MSF staff residence, however, the total number of injured from Friday’s violence remains unknown says the INGO.

Constant Battles

Battles continue between the warring parties—the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the joint forces of the armed struggle movements that signed the Juba Agreement on one side, and the RSF on the other—nine days after the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) called for an end to the fighting in El Fasher, Sudan.

Michel Olivier LaCharité, MSF’s head of emergency operations, stated: “In El Fasher, we are witnessing a series of attacks and counterattacks that do not exclude hospitals. Warring parties are failing in their responsibilities to protect civilians.”

Casualties and Impact

According to MSF, more than 260 people have been killed and 1,630 injured since the fighting began six weeks ago, including women and children. MSF is one of the few international humanitarian organisations still operating in El Fasher.

LaCharité added: “We do not know if hospitals are being deliberately targeted, but their protection is an imperative that must be respected. Civilians are trapped and cannot leave. Their lives must be protected, and they must be able to receive treatment if they need it”.

“This is the second time Saudi hospital has been impacted since the fighting began, and the eighth time a hospital has been hit in the city over the past six weeks”, LaCharité explained.

Two weeks ago, the Ministry of Health was forced to close the Southern Hospital after it was attacked for the fifth time. Prior to that, the hospital was forced to close due to damage caused by a SAF airstrike.

As a result, the continued operation of this formerly specialised maternity hospital, that has become the only health facility capable of providing surgical services and treating the wounded in the city, is also under threat.

LaCharité stressed the urgent need for more supplies and staff to respond to the crisis, but noted that the ongoing fighting is preventing them from doing so. He called on the warring parties to protect civilians and hospitals and to provide safe access to the area so they can continue to provide life-saving assistance to the population in El Fasher.

Edem Wosornu, OCHA’s Director of Operations and Advocacy, who recently briefed the UNSC on the humanitarian situation in Sudan, stated: “In less than four months, this is the sixth time we have briefed this Council on the humanitarian emergency in Sudan. The 12th time since the conflict broke out in April 2023. Each time, we have warned about the relentless deterioration of conditions for people in most parts of the country. Today, I regret to inform you that Sudan continues to spiral into chaos”.