Sudan Hospital Strike Kills 64, Including 13 Children, Amid Drone War

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At least 64 people, including 13 children, were killed and 89 wounded when a strike hit Al Deain Teaching Hospital in Sudan’s East Darfur state late on Friday, rendering one of the region’s main medical facilities completely out of service, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Saturday reuters +1. The attack destroyed pediatric, maternity and emergency departments in the hospital, which served a city already engulfed by nearly three years of war between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group aljazeera +1.

A Hospital Turned Battlefield

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the strike on the hospital in Al Deain city killed multiple patients, two nurses and a doctor, alongside the children, and left eight health workers among the injured bbc +1. The blast hit during a busy period, with families gathered for Eid, intensifying the human toll, according to local reporting bbc.

The WHO verified the incident through its Surveillance System for Attacks on Health Care, confirming the hospital was no longer functional and warning that essential services for thousands of civilians had been cut off reuters +1. The Al Deain facility had been a key referral center in East Darfur; its loss leaves residents facing long, dangerous journeys through active front lines for emergency care, if they can access any at all aljazeera.

Competing Claims, Growing Drone War

Responsibility for the strike remained contested. The RSF accused the Sudanese Armed Forces of carrying out a drone attack on the hospital, alleging use of a Turkish-made Akıncı armed drone and calling the incident a “full-fledged war crime” that should trigger international accountability aljazeera. The army denied the allegation, saying it was “surprised” by the claims and insisting it adheres to international law, without publicly presenting evidence to support its position aljazeera +1.

The attack came amid a sharp escalation in the use of armed drones across Sudan’s battlefields, with UN human rights officials estimating that more than 200 civilians have been killed in drone strikes on markets, schools and health facilities in recent weeks in Darfur and Kordofan news. WHO data show 2,036 people have been killed in 213 verified attacks on health care facilities since the war began in April 2023, underscoring the systematic nature of the violence un.

The Bigger Picture

Humanitarian agencies said the Al Deain strike exemplified how Sudan’s war has turned hospitals into targets and left civilians with almost nowhere safe to seek treatment. Nearly 12 million people have been displaced and more than 33 million left in need of aid as the conflict grinds into its third year un +1. “Enough blood has been spilled. Enough suffering has been inflicted,” Tedros said, urging all parties to de-escalate and respect the protected status of health facilities and workers un.

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Sudan Hospital Strike Kills 64, Including 13 Children, Amid Drone War

A Hospital Turned Battlefield

Competing Claims, Growing Drone War

The Bigger Picture