ALBAWABA - An airstrike by the Sudanese Armed Forces fell 50 meters from the Babiker Nahar Pediatric Hospital in El Fasher, North Darfur, which is funded by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).
The strike led to the collapse of the ICU roof over the heads of two children who were receiving treatment at the pediatric hospital. This hospital was one of the few that specialized in the treatment of sick children and had remained open since the beginning of the war.
Following intense fighting between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in North Darfur on Friday, May 10, 160 wounded people, including 31 women and 19 children, arrived at the MSF-supported South Hospital in El Fasher.
Friday's fighting occurred near Babiker Nahar, and nearly all patients fled in search of safety, with many arriving at South Hospital. Ten of the 115 children having treatment at Babiker Nahar remained on Saturday when the bomb went off, including the two who were murdered. The hospital is currently closed.
MSF urgently calls on all warring parties to protect civilians and health structures, as required by International Humanitarian Law and the Jeddah Declaration, which was signed exactly one year ago on the day the hospital was damaged and the children and caregivers were killed.
Michel-Olivier Lacharité, head of MSF’s emergency operations, stated that the children's caregiver was killed in the bombing as well. "Two children who were receiving treatment in our intensive care unit at the pediatric hospital, as well as one caregiver, have been killed as a result of collateral damage following an airstrike by the Sudanese Armed Forces," Lacharité said.
The hospital had 115 children receiving treatment. Later, the children were evacuated to a small health clinic we rehabilitated and expanded in May and June last year.
MSF received referrals from all around Darfur due to a paucity of facilities elsewhere. They are now one hospital down, with only efforts to increase the MSF response in El Fasher and Zamzam camps in response to the horrific malnutrition situation.
"The 115 children in the hospital were receiving treatment for conditions such as malaria, pneumonia, diarrhea and malnutrition. Now, many are receiving no treatment at all," says Lacharité.
"We also urge them to ensure that they protect civilians – something they completely failed to do this weekend. As well as the two children and the caregiver, 25 people wounded in the fighting who arrived at South Hospital on Friday were in a terminal condition and it was not possible to save their lives" said head of MSF’s emergency operations.
