Dozens killed in Sudan hospital bombing
A strike on a hospital in Sudan has left at least 64 people dead and 89 others injured, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said, calling for an end to the ongoing civil war in the African state.
The casualties included at least 13 children, as well as medical staff and patients at Al Daein Teaching Hospital in East Darfur, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X on Sunday.
The attack on Friday damaged key departments, including the pediatric, maternity and emergency units, and rendered the facility non-functional, Ghebreyesus said.
Sudan descended into chaos in April 2023 when fighting erupted between the national army (Sudanese Armed Forces, SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). This occurred after months of tension between their commanders, army generals Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo ‘Hemedti’, respectively, over a planned transition to civilian rule. What began in the capital, Khartoum, as a power struggle has devastated the country, killing tens of thousands and displacing millions.
Regional and international peace efforts, including African Union mediation and Saudi–US talks in Jeddah, have repeatedly stalled. Sudanese officials have named Colombians and Ukrainians among mercenaries backing the RSF against the army. Officials have also accused Ukraine and the United Arab Emirates of involvement and recently claimed the European Union has an “incomplete understanding of the complex situation” in the country.
Khartoum has also accused authorities in neighboring Kenya of backing the RSF and has broken ties with the East African grouping IGAD amid mistrust of regional mediation. In July, TASIS, a political coalition aligned with the paramilitary, announced the formation of a rival government months after its members signed a charter in Nairobi. It named Gen. Dagalo as chairman of a 15-member presidential council, a move rejected by the UN and AU.
He said the WHO has documented 213 attacks on healthcare facilities, in which 2,036 people have been killed since the war erupted nearly three years ago.
“Enough blood has been spilled. Enough suffering has been inflicted. The time has come to de-escalate the conflict in Sudan and ensure the protection of civilians, health workers, and humanitarians,” Ghebreyesus said.
The fighting has displaced millions and created what aid organizations have described as one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, with widespread shortages of medical care and essential services.
.@WHO has verified yet another attack on health care in #Sudan. This time, Al Deain Teaching Hospital in East Darfur’s capital, Al Deain, was struck, killing at least 64 people, including 13 children, two female nurses, one male doctor, and multiple patients.As a result of this… pic.twitter.com/RAwDR5YVjd
— Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (@DrTedros) March 21, 2026
Responsibility for the latest strike has remained disputed. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has accused the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) of carrying out the attack.
The military dismissed the allegations in a statement on Saturday, saying its forces are committed to upholding international law and norms.
“Attacking service and healthcare facilities is a consistent approach and a daily practice carried out by this terrorist militia [RSF], which has committed massacres in El Fasher, as well as crimes against humanity, war crimes, and ethnic cleansing,” the SAF stated.
The army accused the paramilitary fighters of bombing hospitals in El-Obeid, Dilling, Kadugli, Um Rawaba, Rahad, and Al-Dabba, killing hundreds of patients and medical personnel, and of targeting water and electricity facilities in El-Obeid, Kosti, Khartoum, and Merowe.
