Sudan’s El-Obeid Hospital shuts down after drone attack by Rapid Support Forces

By Adel Abdelrheem and Ikram Kouachi

KHARTOUM, Sudan/ANKARA (AA) - A major hospital in North Kordofan state, southern Sudan, has been forced out of service following a drone strike carried out by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the hospital administration said Friday.

In a statement, El-Obeid Hospital, a privately operated facility, announced that it had suffered extensive damage to its main building after being targeted by a drone strike attributed to the paramilitary RSF, leaving it inoperative.

This is not the first time medical infrastructure in El-Obeid has come under attack. On May 15, a drone strike launched by the RSF hit the Military Medical Corps Hospital in the same city, leaving several people dead and wounded, according to Sudanese authorities.

In recent months, the Sudanese government has repeatedly accused the RSF of launching drone attacks on civilian infrastructure, including electricity stations and other key facilities across northern and eastern cities.

The RSF has not issued public comments on the latest incidents.

Since April 2023, the RSF has been battling the army for control of Sudan, resulting in thousands of deaths and creating one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.

More than 20,000 people have been killed and 15 million displaced, according to the UN and local authorities. Research from US scholars, however, puts the death toll at around 130,000.