DARFUR, Sudan – In an event that has left the entire region reeling, a devastating drone attack on one of Darfur’s few operational hospitals claimed the lives of at least 70 individuals. Those on the ground have grimly described it as the biggest tragedy to hit Sudan since conflict flared up catastrophically.
The ill-fated strike on the Saudi Teaching Maternal Hospital, nestled within El-Fasher, saw the obliteration of the very walls that once gave sanctuary and hope to emergency cases. An anonymous source, out of an understandable fear of reprisals, shared this account with AFP.
“The attack on the Saudi Hospital in El Fasher, Sudan, is beyond shocking, causing 19 injuries and a heartrending 70 deaths,” lamented WHO head honcho, Tedros. “The hospital, at that unfortunate moment, was teeming with patients desperately clinging to life.” Was there ever a safe place, even among the battered corridors of healthcare?
Yet, in this fog of war, both the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) swiftly deny their cronies in chaos had a hand in this dastardly act. For two years now, these groups have been caught in a deathly tug-of-war, scattering lives and dreams across Sudan’s battered landscape.
As if things weren’t already a hornet’s nest, let’s throw this into the mix: the United States wrapping both General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Hamdan Daglo in the cold embrace of sanctions. One represents the SAF, the other the ambitious RSF who’s been eyeing the reins of power like a fox in a henhouse.
Meanwhile, El-Fasher remains a pawn on the board as RSF encircle it with the resolve of a dog with a bone. Despite numerous assaults, their attempts to seize control have been met with fierce resistance from army-allied militias, their advances thwarted time and time again. Go figure, this hospital attack isn’t the first according to an insider. Once again, a drone, deftly maneuvered by paramilitary hands, played the villain merely weeks prior.
El-Fasher’s beleaguered streets have seen healthcare systems wither like leaves in autumn, noted by Doctors Without Borders. With a touch of acerbic irony, the Saudi Hospital currently stands as the solitary beacon of surgical capability. Yet, how long can it gleam amidst the encroaching darkness?
On a grander scale, the chaos seems to have turned Sudan’s pharmacy into pandemonium—a veritable witch’s cauldron if you please. Since the 2019 ousting of Omar al-Bashir, driven by a civilian uprising, much of the nation’s medical prowess has crumbled. Hundreds of facilities lie dysfunctional, now mere shadows of their former selves.
Efforts to bring this madness to heel through dialogue are made by global powers, but peace is elusive. Since the army barnstormed its way back into power in 2021, it’s been calling the shots with a grip tighter than a miser with his last coin.
A land holding its breath, Sudan waits for the elusive dawn of peace amidst the unceasing, stubborn night.
Report by Axadle
