A devastating attack on Al-Mujlad Hospital in Sudan’s West Kordofan State has claimed the lives of more than 40 people, including six children and five medical workers, drawing global condemnation and underscoring the deepening humanitarian catastrophe in the country.
World Health Organization (WHO) Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus decried the bombing, calling it “another appalling attack” and urged: “We cannot say this louder attacks on health must stop everywhere!”
The incident occurred on Saturday in the town of Muglad, close to the active frontline between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Al-Mujlad Hospital, which was the only functioning healthcare facility in the region, was reportedly targeted while serving vulnerable civilians, including patients undergoing dialysis.
Civil society groups, including the Sudan Doctors Network and the Emergency Lawyers organization, accused the SAF of launching the attack in an effort to strike RSF fighters allegedly stationed within the hospital. The SAF has not responded to these allegations, while the RSF, which also blames the army, has yet to comment on whether its fighters were present at the hospital at the time.
This brutal strike comes as Sudan’s civil war enters its third year, with the United Nations naming it the world’s worst humanitarian crisis. Since the conflict erupted in April 2023, over 12 million people have been displaced, tens of thousands have been killed, and millions more have lost access to basic services. Health facilities have been systematically targeted by both sides, with repeated reports of war crimes, including attacks on hospitals and medical staff.
The situation for children is particularly dire. UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell, during a visit to Sudanese refugees in Chad on Monday, warned of a “worsening crisis” for children both within Sudan and among those who have fled. According to Russell, hundreds of thousands of children are now malnourished, out of school, and face elevated risks of exploitation, abuse, and disease. Alarmingly, evidence continues to emerge of sexual violence against children, with reports documenting the rape of girls as young as one year old and cases of children attempting suicide due to trauma.
The destruction of Al-Mujlad Hospital has further eroded the already fragile healthcare infrastructure in Sudan and highlights the urgent need for global attention, humanitarian access, and accountability.
International agencies, including the UN and WHO, are calling for an immediate ceasefire around civilian areas and medical facilities, protection for health workers, and unrestricted humanitarian access. With the conflict showing no signs of abating and funding for aid dangerously low, the future for millions of Sudanese civilians, particularly women and children hangs in the balance.
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