Over 460 people were killed and six health workers abducted in a brutal attack on a hospital in Sudan’s El Fasher, as violence escalates in Darfur’s last government-held city.

A City on the Brink

The war-battered city of El Fasher in Sudan’s North Darfur has become the latest epicenter of the country’s escalating humanitarian catastrophe. On October 28, one of the darkest chapters in Sudan’s ongoing conflict unfolded when more than 460 patients and their companions were reportedly massacred inside the Saudi Maternity Hospital — a facility that had long been a fragile lifeline for thousands amid a siege lasting over a year.

The World Health Organization (WHO) condemned the killings and the abduction of six health workers from the same hospital, calling it one of the most horrific breaches of medical neutrality in recent history. “Health care must never be a target,” the WHO said, urging immediate guarantees for the safety of humanitarian workers and civilians trapped in the city.

Context and Background: A Year Under Siege

El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur and the last major city still under government control, has endured near-constant bombardment and siege since early 2024. Following the breakdown of a fragile truce between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the city became a flashpoint in a war that has ravaged Sudan for more than eighteen months.

The RSF, a powerful paramilitary group born out of the Darfur conflict two decades ago, has sought to consolidate its control across Sudan. After months of encirclement, the group claimed this week to have captured El Fasher by seizing the SAF’s Sixth Division headquarters. Residents and aid workers describe the situation as a “complete collapse” of order in the city, with hospitals, schools, and markets reduced to rubble.

The Massacre and Its Aftermath

Reports indicate that the Saudi Maternity Hospital, the city’s only partially functioning medical facility, was stormed early Tuesday morning. Witnesses described scenes of terror as RSF fighters allegedly entered wards and opened fire on patients and visitors. A nurse was killed, and three health workers were injured in an earlier attack on the same hospital just days before.

On the same day, four doctors, a nurse, and a pharmacist were abducted. The WHO stated that the attack violated International Humanitarian Law, which protects medical personnel and patients even in times of war.

“This is more than a violation — it is an atrocity,” said a Geneva-based humanitarian analyst. “Hospitals have become battlegrounds, and people who are most in need of care are being slaughtered.”

Expert Insight and International Outcry

The United Nations has called for an immediate ceasefire in El Fasher and urged all parties to allow humanitarian access to civilians. The UN Humanitarian Coordinator described the incident as “a catastrophic assault on humanity itself,” adding that deliberate attacks on healthcare risk collapsing what little remains of Darfur’s emergency response system.

Human rights organizations have echoed those concerns. Amnesty International demanded an independent investigation, warning that repeated assaults on El Fasher’s medical infrastructure may constitute war crimes. The International Committee of the Red Cross reiterated that even amidst conflict, hospitals and medical workers are protected by the Geneva Conventions.

In Washington and Brussels, foreign ministries condemned the killings and pressed both warring sides to engage in negotiations. However, with the RSF now claiming control of El Fasher, diplomatic leverage appears limited.

The Human Cost of a Prolonged War

According to UN estimates, more than 260,000 civilians remain trapped in El Fasher with little to no access to food, clean water, or medical care. The city has been cut off from humanitarian supplies since February 2025, forcing residents to rely on makeshift wells and informal clinics to survive.

The violence has triggered another wave of displacement. Around 28,000 people have fled in recent days — 26,000 to rural outskirts of El Fasher and nearly 2,000 to the nearby town of Tawila. Humanitarian agencies warn that more than 100,000 additional civilians could soon attempt to flee, joining the 575,000 who are already displaced in Darfur’s harsh and overcrowded settlements.

Many of those fleeing are women and unaccompanied children. Aid groups report acute shortages of shelter materials, food, and medical supplies. “Every route out of El Fasher is dangerous,” said a UN field coordinator based in South Darfur. “Families are risking their lives to escape one death trap, only to walk into another.”

Implications for Sudan’s Wider Crisis

The fall of El Fasher marks a turning point in Sudan’s civil war, signaling a near-total RSF dominance across Darfur. Analysts warn that the city’s capture could further destabilize western Sudan, expanding the conflict toward neighboring Chad and South Sudan.

The Sudanese conflict has already displaced more than 11.7 million people, creating one of the world’s largest displacement crises. Among them, 4.2 million have crossed borders into nearby countries, including Egypt, Chad, and Ethiopia. Aid convoys attempting to reach trapped populations have routinely been looted or turned away by militia forces.

The international response has so far been limited, constrained by security risks and donor fatigue. Without sustained global attention, humanitarian agencies fear that Sudan could become a “forgotten war,” comparable to Syria or Yemen in its scale of devastation.

A Nation at the Edge

As the dust settles on El Fasher’s shattered streets, the true scale of the massacre remains uncertain. What is clear is that the victims — doctors, mothers, newborns, and the wounded — represent the human costs of a war that has shown no mercy.

For now, Sudan’s civilians continue to endure starvation, displacement, and the collapse of basic services, while the world struggles to respond to yet another crisis in an increasingly crowded landscape of global emergencies.

Whether international actors can mobilize meaningful pressure to bring the violence to an end remains doubtful. But for those trapped in El Fasher, hope hangs on the thinnest thread — that the world is still watching, and that silence will not follow their cries.

Disclaimer: This article is based on credible information from United Nations agencies and verified humanitarian statements as of October 30, 2025. Situational details remain fluid due to restricted access in conflict zones.