Hospital in Sudan’s Al-Fashir Shut after Attack, Aid Group Says

This picture taken on May 30, 2024, shows damaged shops in Omdurman. (AFP)
This picture taken on May 30, 2024, shows damaged shops in Omdurman. (AFP)
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Hospital in Sudan’s Al-Fashir Shut after Attack, Aid Group Says

This picture taken on May 30, 2024, shows damaged shops in Omdurman. (AFP)
This picture taken on May 30, 2024, shows damaged shops in Omdurman. (AFP)

The main hospital in Sudan's al-Fashir city has been attacked and put out of service, Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which supports the facility, told Reuters on Sunday, while local volunteers blamed the incident on the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The city, in the Darfur region of northwestern Sudan, is home to more than 1.8 million residents and displaced people, and is the latest front in a war between the Sudanese army and the RSF which began in April 2023.

The RSF, which has taken over the capital Khartoum and most of western Sudan, is also seeking to advance further within the center, as United Nations agencies say the people of Sudan are at "imminent risk of famine".

Some 130,000 people have fled their homes in al-Fashir as a result of the fighting in April and May, the United Nations has said.

The RSF did not respond to a request for comment.

MSF did not say who had attacked the hospital, the only hospital in al-Fashir capable of handling what it describes as daily mass casualty events.

From May 10 to June 6, some 1,315 wounded arrived at the facility and 208 people have died there, but many people are not able to reach the hospital due to the fighting, MSF said.

Michel-Olivier Lacharite, head of MSF emergency operations, told Reuters that the hospital had previously started evacuating patients after being impacted by fighting three times since May 25.

The al-Fashir Emergency Response Room, a volunteer group, said on Sunday that RSF fighters raided the hospital on Saturday, killing and injuring several people and looting medicine and an ambulance and forcing the hospital to shut.

An eyewitness told Reuters he saw people evacuating the hospital, and other eyewitnesses said the RSF had launched missiles at the hospital and its vicinity.

A separate attack on Saturday on the Abu Shouk camp to the north of the city impacted another medical center, injured more than 30, and killed at least two, the camp committee and a volunteer said.

A report last week from The Yale Humanitarian Research Lab said some 40 settlements outside the city have been struck with arson attacks since March.

Local residents have blamed the RSF for the attacks.

Leaving the city has proven dangerous, as residents say those fleeing have been attacked and even killed on the main RSF-controlled road out of the city.

Most of those leaving have taken routes either south to Zamzam camp, or west to the Tawila and Jebel Mara areas, which are controlled by armed groups, including the faction of the Sudan Liberation Army headed by Abdelwahid Mohamed Nour, an aid worker and residents said.



Iraqi Foreign Minister: We Have Received Explicit Israeli Threats

Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid addresses the Peace Forum in Duhok (Rudaw Network)
Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid addresses the Peace Forum in Duhok (Rudaw Network)
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Iraqi Foreign Minister: We Have Received Explicit Israeli Threats

Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid addresses the Peace Forum in Duhok (Rudaw Network)
Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid addresses the Peace Forum in Duhok (Rudaw Network)

Iraqi Foreign Minister Fuad Hussein stated on Friday that Iraq has received explicit threats from Israel, adding that the country’s armed forces have been instructed by the prime minister to prevent any attacks originating from Iraqi territory.

According to the Iraqi News Agency (INA), Prime Minister Mohammed Shia al-Sudani directed the armed forces to take action against anyone launching attacks from the country. The foreign minister emphasized that Iraq does not seek war and aims to avoid its dangers, noting that the region is “on fire” and facing “clear threats from Israel.”

The agency also reported that the Iraqi government has requested an emergency meeting of the Arab League Council to address Israeli threats. Iraq’s permanent representative to the Arab League submitted a request for a session at the level of permanent representatives of member states to confront what was described as menaces from the “Zionist entity.”

Earlier, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar announced that he had sent a message to the president of the UN Security Council urging immediate action against activities of Iran-backed militias in Iraq. Sa’ar asserted that the Iraqi government bears responsibility for any actions occurring within or emanating from its territory.

Meanwhile, Iraqi officials have expressed pessimism about the outcome of the ongoing war in the Middle East. Nevertheless, they emphasized Baghdad’s commitment to supporting efforts to achieve lasting peace and security.

Speaking at the American University Forum in Duhok on Friday, Iraqi Parliament Speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani highlighted that the challenges facing Iraq have fundamentally changed since October 7.

He described the current situation in the Middle East as a “second Nakba”, stressing that the challenges stem from the failure of the international system, which he described as “ambiguous.”

Iraqi President Abdul Latif Rashid stated that Iraq would play its role in promoting peace in the Middle East and expressed his full support for efforts aimed at achieving a peaceful resolution to the Kurdish issue in Türkiye.

Speaking at the Duhok Forum, Rashid said that Iraq and the region are facing circumstances that require all parties to closely monitor the situation and find appropriate solutions to ongoing problems, emphasizing the need for lasting peace and security.

Masoud Barzani, leader of the Kurdistan Democratic Party, called for Iraq to remain neutral in the conflict, saying: “The crises in the region and the scenes of war in Lebanon and Gaza are tragic. We hope this suffering will come to an end.”

“We are all awaiting changes following the US presidential election. All indications suggest that a Trump administration will adopt a different approach compared to President Biden’s policies,” he added.

The Iraqi government has stated that under the Strategic Framework Agreement and security pact with the United States, Washington is responsible for “deterring and responding to any external attacks that threaten Iraq’s internal security.”

According to media reports, the US has informed Baghdad that Israeli military strikes on Iraq are “imminent” unless Baghdad prevents Iran-backed factions from launching attacks against Israel.