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Attack on Saudi Teaching Maternal Hospital in El Fasher, in North Darfur and loss of 70 lives is blatant violation of human rights, in a facility where people should be safest from harm.

 

February 1, 2025 • 3 min read

(Fri 31st Jan) GOAL is appalled by the attack on the Saudi Teaching Maternal Hospital in El Fasher, the capital city of North Darfur, last Fri 24th Jan, which claimed 70 lives, including patients, visitors, and hospital personnel, and wounded 19 others. And since this attack and over the last week, GOAL has continued to receive reports of artillery shelling and aerial bombardment in Al Modaraj, Al Mawashi, Daraja Oula, Abu Shouck, and Abouja areas in El Fasher city, but as yet, the numbers of civilian fatalities and casualties is unclear. Hundreds of thousands of displaced people are sheltering in El-Fasher, which is considered a humanitarian hub and which Toby Harward, UN Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, recently described as ‘hell on earth.’

As an organization committed to protecting our most vulnerable communities, GOAL condemns these attacks as an egregious act of violence that breaches international law and violates the dignity and humanity underpinning humanitarian action. The attack underscores the harsh reality of the violence that has plagued Sudan following the eruption of civil unrest in 2023 and the grim reality for families and children trapped in areas affected by relentless conflict, insecurity, and lack of protection.

In response to the attack on the maternity hospital in El Fasher, Sanjida Tawhid, GOAL Sudan Country Director, said

“We are deeply shocked and outraged by the brutal attack on the Saudi Teaching Maternal Hospital in El Fasher, the region’s only remaining functioning hospital. This attack is a gross violation of human rights targeting the most vulnerable of our community, who rely on the critical health support that this hospital provides and a harrowing reflection of the human loss and suffering that this conflict continues to inflict.”

“I am, however, relieved to share that our GOAL workers stationed in hubs in North Darfur are safe and unharmed following this attack. The degree of human suffering in North Darfur, which has the highest percentage of the country’s population experiencing famine conditions, perpetrated by this senseless violence cannot be overstated and serves as a stark reminder of the urgent need for peace. GOAL remains steadfast in its commitment to supporting the people of Sudan during this time of devastating loss and calls for an immediate cessation of this abhorrent violence,” continued Sanjida Tawhid.

Also speaking on the attack, GOAL’s Regional Director for Africa, John Rynne, stated,

“Since its outbreak in 2023, the conflict in Sudan, fueled by inter-tribal hostilities, has caused the largest displacement and humanitarian crisis to date, with over 8.8 million people forcibly displaced inside Sudan, where GOAL has been working since 1985, and 3.2 million people who have sought refuge in neighboring countries. The reality of this vast and relentless crisis is that almost a million of these people who have fled Sudan have had to return to the war-torn country, having been unable to find safety elsewhere. Millions of people across East Africa are suffering from the compounded effects of this violence, with disease and food shortages widespread. The humanitarian situation is dire and demands our immediate attention and focus to put an end to this devastation.”

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