Sudan: Airstrike kills two children and forces closure of MSF-supported hospital

On the evening of Saturday 11 May, an airstrike carried out by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) landed 50 metres from Babiker Nahar Paediatric Hospital, which is supported by Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF), in El Fasher, North Darfur.

This led to the collapse of the roof above the intensive care unit and the death of two children who remained receiving treatment there, as well as the death of at least one caregiver.  

This hospital was one of the few specialising in the treatment of sick children that had managed to remain operational since the start of the war.

It received referrals from across the Darfur region because so many others had been forced to close. Now, one additional health facility has been put out of action.  

Intense fighting in North Darfur

"One-hundred-and-fifteen children in the hospital were receiving treatment for conditions such as malaria, pneumonia, diarrhoea and malnutrition,” said Michel-Olivier Lacharité, head of MSF’s emergency operations. “Now, many are receiving no treatment at all.”

Saturday’s incident came after heavy fighting between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and SAF/Joint Forces in North Darfur on Friday 10 May, when 160 wounded people – including 31 women and 19 children – arrived at the MSF-supported South Hospital in El Fasher.

Twenty-five of these wounded people were in a terminal condition upon arrival and passed away.  

Friday’s fighting took place close to Babiker Nahar, and led to almost all patients fleeing in search of safety – many arrived at South Hospital.

Of the 115 children receiving treatment in Babiker Nahar, 10 remained on Saturday when the bomb dropped – including the two children who were killed. Currently, the hospital is closed. 

Rising needs in El Fasher and Zamzam camp

“It was one of the very few children’s hospitals remaining in the whole Darfur region,” continues  Michel-Olivier Lacharité.

“We received referrals from across Darfur because of the lack of facilities elsewhere. Now we are one additional hospital down, just as we were trying to scale-up our response in El Fasher and Zamzam camp in response to the catastrophic malnutrition crisis there.”

MSF is making an urgent call to all warring parties to protect civilians and ensure the protection of health structures, as they are obligated to do under International Humanitarian Law, and the Jeddah declaration – signed exactly one year ago on the day that the hospital was damaged and the children and caregiver were killed.