At least nine killed in drone attack on hospital in Sudan’s Darfur 

At least nine people have been killed and 20 others injured following a drone strike that hit a hospital in the city of el-Fasher in Sudan’s northern Darfur region.

The Federal Ministry of Health blamed the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for the attack, which took place on Friday. Officials say the group fired four rocket-propelled grenades towards the city’s main healthcare facility.

A resistance committee in el-Fasher, involved in relief efforts, said the attack targeted the Saudi hospital, forcing it to suspend medical services. It was the last remaining open hospital in the city.

The Sudanese army and RSF have been fighting in el-Fasher since May 10. The city has been a hub for humanitarian efforts in Darfur by the United Nations and other international aid agencies.

Waves Of Conflict

Friday’s strike was the latest in a wave of devastating attacks in the region this week.

On Monday, more than 100 people – including women and children – were killed in an air strike on an open-air market in Kabkabiya, a town in northern Darfur, about 180km (111 miles) from el-Fasher, according to the rights group Emergency Lawyers.

Human rights groups condemned the Sudanese army for the attack.

“Bombing a market full of civilians is one of the clearest examples of a war crime that exists,” said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International regional director for East and Southern Africa.

On Tuesday, the RSF also shelled the Zamzam displacement camp in North Darfur. The attack killed five people, according to the civil society group Darfur General Coordination of Camps for the Displaced and Refugees.

The mounting civilian casualties come amid continuing clashes across the country between the Sudanese army and RSF.

On Tuesday, the RSF targeted an army-controlled area within the city of Omdurman in Khartoum – Sudan’s second-most populous city – with heavy artillery fire.

State-aligned Khartoum Governor Ahmed Othman Hamza said the attack killed at least 65 people.

More than 16,000 people have been killed since the conflict began, with another 10 million displaced and 25 million in need of humanitarian assistance, according to the UN.