Sudan's Healthcare System Deliberately Targeted
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A BBC investigation has documented systematic attacks on hospitals in el-Fasher, a city in Sudan's Darfur region. Researchers found evidence of at least 43 separate attacks on healthcare facilities between May 2024 and October 2025, with some hospitals hit multiple times. The Rapid Support Forces, a paramilitary group, mounted a long siege of el-Fasher during Sudan's civil war. UN human rights officials have called these attacks serious violations of international law and potentially war crimes, as attacking hospitals and medical staff during conflict is illegal worldwide.
The Human Cost
Medical workers paid an enormous price during the siege. From April 2023 to October 2025, the BBC found that 120 healthcare workers were injured, 55 were killed, and 10 were forcibly disappeared or abducted. Dr. Muhamed Suliman, a surgeon who worked in el-Fasher during this period, explained that the fighters deliberately destroyed the health system to force civilians to leave the city. He described the campaign as intense, deliberate, and carefully planned, designed to make survival impossible for residents.
Different Accounts
The paramilitary group has rejected these findings, calling them propaganda designed to damage their reputation. While the BBC investigation focuses on attacks by the Rapid Support Forces, both sides of Sudan's civil war have faced accusations of attacking health facilities. In March 2026, the World Health Organization condemned a separate bombing of another hospital in eastern Darfur, believed to have been carried out by Sudan's military, though the military denied responsibility. The conflict in el-Fasher represents one of the most severe examples of healthcare destruction in Sudan's ongoing war.
Discussion Questions
- What does the BBC investigation claim about the attacks on hospitals in el-Fasher?
- Why might destroying hospitals be a deliberate military strategy during a conflict?
- What does international law say about attacking health facilities during war, and why do you think this law exists?
- How do the Rapid Support Forces and Sudan's military give different accounts of what happened, and how can investigators determine which side is responsible?
- What challenges might medical workers face when healthcare facilities are deliberately targeted during conflict?
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