30 killed in drone attack on hospital in Sudan's Darfur: Sources
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The Saudi Hospital was destroyed in Friday's bombing, a source told AFP, killing 30.
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A South Sudanese whose husband is from Sudan's western Darfur region holds her one-month-old baby under a tree with her three other children, at the South Sudan People's Defense Forces (SSPDF) headquarters in Juba, South Sudan, on January 17, 2025. (AP)
A drone strike on one of the few remaining hospitals in el-Fasher, located in Sudan's Darfur region, killed 30 people and wounded dozens, according to a medical source on Saturday.
The bombing of the Saudi Hospital on Friday evening "resulted in the destruction" of the building that was treating emergency cases, the source told AFP, speaking on condition of anonymity due to fear of reprisals. It is still uncertain which faction in Sudan's ongoing conflict was responsible for the attack.
The Sudanese army has been engaged in conflict with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April 2023, who have taken control of almost the entire expansive western region of Darfur.
It is worth noting that healthcare facilities in el-Fasher have been under constant attack, with Doctors Without Borders reporting earlier this month that the Saudi Hospital was "the only public hospital with surgical capacity still functioning."
Nationwide, nearly 80 percent of healthcare facilities have been rendered non-operational according to official reports. The war has so far claimed tens of thousands of lives, displaced over 12 million people, and pushed millions to the brink of starvation.
Famine has already gripped three displacement camps—Zamzam, Abu Shouk, and al-Salam—near el-Fasher and is projected to spread to five additional areas, including the city itself, by May, according to a UN-backed assessment.
Sudan plunged into darkness as drone strikes target key power stations
Most regions under army control in Sudan are experiencing widespread blackouts following a series of drone strikes carried out by the paramilitary RSF. These attacks, which began earlier this month, have severely impacted critical power facilities, deepening the country's humanitarian crisis.
The initial strikes targeted the Merowe Dam, Sudan's largest power generation facility, disrupting electricity in the northern state. A technical failure also affected power supplies in the River Nile and Red Sea states.
The outages spread further on January 18 after an overnight assault on the al-Shouk power station, cutting power to Gedaref, Kassala, and Sennar states. These areas represent a significant portion of territory still held by the army amid its nearly two-year-long conflict with the RSF, which controls much of western Sudan.
The RSF's actions have compounded existing challenges, as many RSF-controlled regions already suffer from diminished electricity due to ongoing violence. In areas now plunged into darkness, millions of internally displaced people are grappling with deteriorating infrastructure and overcrowded conditions.
