Thirteen Killed as Medical Facility Shelled in Encircled Sudan City
No less than 13 individuals have been slain after an attack on one of the last remaining medical centers in el-Fasher, a Sudanese city caught under siege.
Sixteen others, including a physician and nurse, were wounded after the militia Rapid Support Forces shelled Saudi hospital multiple times on Tuesday after dark, according to witnesses.
Pictures displayed smashed windows, fissures from explosive fragments, a massive breach in the mud-brick wall and deformed frames from hospital beds scattered across the floor.
A organization of Sudanese healthcare workers has called the attack a war crime. The RSF has been blockading el-Fasher for more than seventeen months, leaving countless people stranded in the city confronting starvation.
Escalating Violence in Key Darfur City
The militia force is battling the government forces for total authority of el-Fasher, the last military stronghold in the vast Darfur region.
This marks the second assault on the Saudi hospital this year - the previous in January claimed the lives of three young ones and harmed three more.
The latest artillery fire tore through portions of the hospital, demolishing wards.
Crisis Situation Worsens
In the last several weeks, the RSF has escalated its offensive on the city, causing experts to conclude the city could collapse imminently unless the army receives prompt reinforcements.
The opposing forces have been involved in a ferocious civil war for exceeding two years, producing the world's worst humanitarian emergency and numerous of casualties.
The unending fighting in el-Fasher has compelled nearly all health facilities to close. Relief supplies carrying nourishment and treatment have been blocked from reaching residents.
"After in excess of nearly two years of unremitting encirclement by the RSF and incessant conflict, El Fasher is on the verge of an even greater calamity if immediate actions are not taken to ease the armed vice upon the city and to protect non-combatants," stated a United Nations leader last week.
Critical Situation for Medical Services
- Numerous medical centers have been forced to cease operations due to continuing hostilities
- Medical supplies are dwindling quickly throughout the besieged city
- Worldwide aid organizations face major challenges in delivering vital assistance
- The local residents faces mounting health risks without adequate healthcare
The situation in el-Fasher constitutes one of the worst crisis situations currently developing worldwide, with immediate measures required to avert further casualties.
