Hundreds killed in RSF hospital assault amid escalating violence
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) killed hundreds of patients and staff at the Saudi maternity hospital in El Fasher, according to the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Sudan Doctors Network. WHO Secretary General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed shock at reports of over 460 fatalities.
The Sudan Doctors Network reported that the RSF killed everyone found in the hospital "in cold blood." Fighting between the Sudanese armed forces and the RSF has intensified since April 2023, following a power struggle within the military.
As of March 2025, the army controls most of northern and eastern Sudan, while the RSF has taken over El Fasher and all five regional capitals of Darfur. The city, once home to over 1 million residents, has been under siege since May 2024, leading to famine in nearby displacement camps.
Experts warned that the RSF's takeover of El Fasher could mirror its deadly capture of Geneina in 2023, where up to 15,000 civilians were killed. The RSF, formed from the Janjaweed militias responsible for past atrocities in Darfur, has been accused of genocide by the U.S. government.
On Tuesday, the Joint Forces coalition claimed the RSF executed over 2,000 unarmed civilians since seizing El Fasher. RSF leader Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, acknowledged "abuses" by his forces but did not provide details of investigations.
Satellite imagery analysis revealed signs of mass killings near the hospital, with evidence of systematic killings at a former children’s hospital. Civilians fleeing El Fasher reported extortion and assaults by RSF fighters, with many likely dying en route to displacement camps.
Witnesses described RSF fighters conducting house-to-house searches, shooting at civilians, and leaving bodies in the streets. “It was like a killing field,” said Tajal-Rahman, a resident of a nearby displacement camp now housing over 650,000 people.
