Médecins Sans Frontières Announces Major Hospital Shutdown in El Fasher

Moatinoun
Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has announced the suspension of its operations at the South Hospital in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, following an attack by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the medical facility, during which its contents were looted.

MSF condemned the RSF for firing shots inside the hospital.

Michel Lacharite, MSFs Head of Emergency Operations, stated, "This is not an isolated incident. Staff, patients, and caregivers have faced attacks at the facility for weeks from all sides, but firing inside the hospital is a boundary crossed."

In a statement issued on Sunday, MSF declared, "MSF and the Ministry of Health halted all activities at the South Hospital in El Fasher, North Darfur, on Saturday after RSF soldiers stormed the facility, fired shots, and looted it, including the theft of an MSF ambulance."

The statement added, "At the time of the invasion, there were only 10 patients and a small medical team present, as MSF and Ministry of Health teams had begun transferring patients and services to other facilities earlier in the week."

The statement noted that the organization was unable to confirm if there were any fatalities or injuries due to the chaos; however, most patients and the remaining medical team managed to escape from the RSF gunfire.