In brief
A BBC probe finds that Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces deliberately struck 43 health sites in el‑Fasher between May 2024 and October 2025, killing and injuring medical staff and patients. UN Human Rights chief Volker Türk called the raids deeply disturbing and a possible war crime. The RSF denies the allegations, while eyewitness accounts and satellite images show repeated shelling of hospitals, including a siege that resulted in the alleged murder of more than 460 patients. International bodies and Médecins Sans Frontières warn that such attacks violate the protection of medical facilities under international law.
A BBC investigation has uncovered evidence that Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) systematically destroyed the healthcare system in el‑Fasher, a city in western Darfur, during a year‑long siege and subsequent takeover. The report, citing on‑ground sources, documents at least 43 separate attacks on hospitals and related facilities from May 2024 to October 2025.
UN Human Rights chief Volker Türk described the findings as deeply disturbing and said the RSF’s repeated shelling of civilian infrastructure, including medical sites, could constitute war crimes. The RSF rejects the BBC’s allegations, calling the claims propaganda aimed at tarnishing the group’s reputation.
The BBC’s data highlights the toll on medical staff: between April 2023 and October 2025, 120 workers were injured, 55 were killed and 10 were forcibly disappeared or abducted. Throughout the siege, the RSF allegedly aimed to neutralise hospitals as they were perceived to serve civilians and the opposing Sudanese army.
In one documented incident on 8 June the RSF raided a hospital, taking staff by surprise and leaving the site destroyed. The facility later fell into RSF hands after the national army withdrew. Subsequent allegations surfaced that the RSF eased access to medical care after reopening hospitals for propaganda purposes.
International organisations such as the World Health Organization have condemned attacks on Sudanese health facilities, citing obligations under international humanitarian law that protect medical sites from hostile action. Witnesses report that the RSF also used hospitals as bases for missile launchers and deployd landmines around the Teaching Hospital, claims that remain unverified by independent sources.
Despite the RSF’s denial, satellite imagery and survivor testimony point to a pattern of deliberate targeting of healthcare facilities, raising concerns about the protection of medical personnel amid ongoing conflict. The city’s healthcare system remains under RSF‑backed control, while reports indicate that several medical workers have been released only after the RSF relinquished custody.
The broader context of Sudan’s civil war, a conflict that erupted in April 2023 between the RSF and the national army, continues to amplify the humanitarian crisis. Attacks on hospitals are now seen as part of a broader strategy that hampers civilian access to essential services, with international bodies calling for adherence to the Geneva Conventions and safe zones for medical care.
