The sole remaining medical lifeline for hundreds of thousands in Sudan's Darfur region has been severed. El Fasher Teaching Hospital, the last functioning medical facility in the besieged city, has ceased operations following direct attacks, creating what aid organizations are calling a catastrophic healthcare collapse.
A Hospital Under Fire
According to the medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the hospital sustained multiple attacks between May 25 and June 3, with bullets striking the walls and one shell even hitting the intensive care unit. The violence forced the organization to evacuate all staff and patients, effectively shutting down the only comprehensive medical facility in a city of 1.5 million people.
The Human Cost of Conflict
The consequences are devastating. Over 130 patients had to be abandoned when medical staff evacuated, including eight children in intensive care who required tube feeding. MSF reported that at least three patients died during the chaotic evacuation process. The hospital had been treating approximately 300 patients daily before its closure.
Broader Humanitarian Crisis
El Fasher represents the final urban center in Darfur not under control of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The city has become the epicenter of Sudan's ongoing civil war between the military and RSF paramilitary group. The hospital closure compounds an already dire situation where:
- Essential supplies including food, water, and medicine are critically low
- Civilian casualties continue to mount with limited medical options
- Humanitarian access remains severely restricted
International Response and Warnings
The United Nations Security Council has demanded both parties cease hostilities and allow humanitarian access. Claire Nicolet, head of MSF's emergency response in Sudan, emphasized the severity: "The closure of El Fasher Teaching Hospital is a devastating blow to the people of Darfur. There is now no single health facility in the city capable of handling mass casualties or providing sophisticated medical care."
The international community watches with growing alarm as what was once Darfur's main referral hospital now stands empty, its beds vacant and operating rooms silent, while outside its walls, the conflict continues to claim lives.
