NEW YORK CITY: The UN on Wednesday condemned what it described as “horrific” violations of international humanitarian law in Sudan, following reports that hundreds of people were massacred at a maternity hospital in the besieged city of El-Fasher amid escalating violence and mass displacement across the war-torn country.
UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said the organization was “horrified by the reports of the tragic killing of more than 460 people, both patients and their companions, at the Saudi Maternity Hospital in El-Fasher.”
The attack followed recent assaults and abductions targeting health workers in the area, he added, as fighting between warring military factions continues to devastate the Darfur region of the country.
According to the World Health Organization, prior to the latest incident there had been 185 verified attacks on health care facilities in Sudan since the civil war erupted in April 2023, resulting in 1,204 deaths and 416 injuries among health workers and patients. Of those attacks, 49 took place this year, killing 966 people, Dujarric said.
The escalating violence in the city has driven tens of thousands of people from their homes; the International Organization for Migration reported that more than 36,000 people fled El-Fasher on Sunday and Monday alone, many of them seeking refuge on the outskirts of the city and in nearby areas including Kebkabiya, Mellit and Tawila.
