Attack on Darfur hospital kills one: MSF

Fighters loyal to the army patrol a market area in Khartoum. For nearly two years, Sudan has been ravaged by a war between the regular army and the RSF [File, Standard]

An armed assault on a hospital in the war-ravaged Darfur region of Sudan killed one person, medical charity Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said Wednesday, adding it had been forced to suspend operations.

Five people were also wounded in last week's attack, one of them a health worker supported by MSF, it added.

Since the war between Sudan's regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces began in April 2023, more than 120 aid workers have been killed, according to the United Nations.

"Humanitarian needs in Sudan have reached unprecedented levels. Yet those who step forward to help -- our frontline aid workers -- are being attacked, detained, harassed and even killed," UN humanitarian coordinator Luca Renda said Tuesday.

The hospital in Zalingei, capital of Central Darfur state, was attacked by armed relatives of a patient who had died of a gunshot wound. They then clashed with other armed individuals.

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A hand grenade went off in front of the emergency room, causing the casualties.

The facility was the only referral hospital serving the area's population of around half a million, who are currently facing a deadly cholera outbreak.

According to Sudan's doctors' union, 90 percent of the country's hospitals have been forced to close at some point during the war. Many have been repeatedly bombed, stormed by fighters and looted of all supplies.

Doctors have themselves been attacked and forced to operate on fighters at gunpoint.

Nearly 25 million people in Sudan face dire hunger, with millions cut off from life-saving aid.