Rapid Support Forces Shell Women’s Hospital in North Darfur Capital, Killing Pharmacist

El Fasher Hospital for Obstetrics and Gynecology

June 22, 2024 (EL FASHER) – The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) shelled El Fasher Hospital for Obstetrics and Gynecology in the capital of North Darfur, on Friday evening, killing a female pharmacist and destroying a pharmacy.

This attack follows a previous incident on 8 June, when the RSF stormed El Fasher South Hospital, the only functioning hospital in the city capable of responding to mass casualty events. They looted an ambulance, medicines and staff salaries, and assaulted medical personnel, patients and their companions.

The storming of the medical facility forced it to shut down, exacerbating the suffering of civilians, especially with the increasing number of injuries resulting from ongoing clashes between the army and its allies from the armed movements against the RSF.

A statement issued by El Fasher Resistance Committees, received by Sudan Tribune, said that “the Saudi built hospital was shelled by the RSF, which led to the destruction of the supply pharmacy and the injury of a pharmacist.”

The pharmacist, Amina Ahmed Bakhit, died later on Saturday from her injuries sustained in the attack on the Women’s and Maternity Hospital.

El Fasher Hospital for Obstetrics and Gynecology, located in the Darajah neighbourhood west of the city, is the only functioning medical facility for women and maternity in Darfur. It is also the only hospital that receives surgical and injury cases after the South Hospital went out of service earlier this month.

The governor of Darfur, Minni Minawi, accused the RSF in a tweet on the “X” platform of deliberately shelling the Women’s Hospital and causing the destruction of a pharmacy and the death of a pharmacist . He considered that targeting medical facilities by a force supported by a country (referring to the UAE) that enjoys membership in the United Nations is a dangerous matter, adding, “The world must review its morals.”

Since the start of the military confrontations between the army and its allies from the armed movements against the RSF in El Fasher on 10 May, several medical facilities have been targeted.

In addition to the targeting of the South Hospital by the RSF, an airstrike launched by the army’s warplanes on 11 May near the only children’s hospital in El Fasher killed two children who were in the intensive care unit and a healthcare provider. The women’s hospital was also targeted on 19 May.

The parties to the conflict have ignored numerous regional and international appeals to spare El Fasher from the dangers of battles, considering it a vital humanitarian centre for all of Darfur, housing 800,000 displaced people in addition to two million people.

Meanwhile, Abu Obeida Al-Khalifa Al-Taaishi, assistant to the head of the Sudan Liberation Movement for political affairs, said that targeting El Fasher Hospital for Obstetrics and Gynecology will lead to a complete deterioration of the health situation in North Darfur state. He urged the supporters of the militia, including organisations, countries, and individuals, to look at the positions of the militia that wants to rule Sudan and kill the people without mercy.