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Doctors Without Borders has warned that as fighting in El Fasher, North Darfur, Sudan, intensifies again, its impact on civilian life is becoming more severe.
According to a press statement on Wednesday, the city has been hit by multiple attacks over the past week, killing at least 15 people and injuring more than 130 since Saturday, while the Saudi hospital supported by Doctors Without Borders, the last public hospital in the city capable of treating the wounded and performing surgeries, was also attacked, causing severe damage and leaving it only partially operational.
“The attack, which took place on Sunday, August 11, was the 11th time that El Fasher Hospital had been hit since fighting escalated on May 10. The surgical ward was hit in the bombardment, killing a patient’s caregiver and injuring five others, and the obstetrics and gynecology department was also damaged. In addition, several offices in the hospital were hit and a nurse was injured while working inside,” the statement read. “Saudi hospitals are already overwhelmed with wounded people after heavy fighting on Saturday, August 10. More than 100 people arrived at the hospital that day, 14 of whom died from their wounds.”
Meanwhile, Doctors Without Borders said 15 wounded people were taken from El Fasher to its facility in Zam Zam camp. Fighting is expected to intensify in the coming days.
“For more than three months, people in El Fasher have been bombarded. Shelling from both sides has affected the city, resulting in more than 2,500 wounded arriving at MSF-supported hospitals, of which more than 370 patients have died from their wounds. The number of victims of the conflict is unknown,” said Michel Olivier Lacharité, head of MSF emergencies. “Sunday’s attack on the Saudi hospital – the largest in North Darfur – clearly shows that the warring parties are making no effort to protect health facilities or the civilians inside them. Patients fear for their lives as a result of the relentless attack.”
He added: “People are heading to Zamzam to escape the fighting in El Fasher, but those already in the camp fear for their lives – Zamzam was shelled just a week ago and there is a huge fear that this could happen again.”
According to Olivier, medical charities are preparing to receive more wounded in Zamzam, especially because the fighting in El Fasher means Saudi hospitals cannot be easily reached.
“However, our field hospital, which was built to treat children with malnutrition and paediatric diseases, is not being used to treat the wounded. There is no operating theatre and no blood bank, which means our teams will be under enormous pressure if the wounded continue to pour in,” he said, adding: “Besides, people’s lives are already at risk in the camp. Six months ago, MSF sounded the alarm about the catastrophic malnutrition crisis there, and now the Famine Review Committee has declared a state of famine in the camp.”
“We call on all parties to the conflict to allow unimpeded humanitarian access, but also on them to protect civilians and medical facilities,” said an official from Doctors Without Borders.
Olivier said the Saudi hospital is the last public hospital in North Darfur that can effectively treat the wounded.
“If it or our facilities in Zam Zam are attacked again and are not able to function properly, the wounded will have nowhere to seek medical care and the death toll will soar,” he asserted.
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