*Dozens of civilians reportedly killed in attack on West Kordofan’s Al-Mujlad Hospital*
*Strike hit state’s only dialysis unit, destroying machines delivered just a week before*
*Facility was already facing shortages of staff, equipment, and basic supplies*
THU 26 JUN -- A strike on a West Kordofan hospital that killed dozens of people came amid an already “disastrous” situation for medical care in the area, a local health worker has said.
The strike, reportedly carried out by a Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) drone, hit the main hospital in the city of Mujlad on Saturday afternoon.
Recent months have seen frequent clashes in West Kordofan as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which currently holds Mujlad and a number of the surrounding cities and towns, attempts to secure control of the state.
Last week, SAF repelled a major offensive by the RSF on the town of Babanusa, which sits around 20 miles to the north of Mujlad and hosts the headquarters of a SAF division, Sudan War Monitor reports.
Speaking to Avaaz, Ibrahim, a health worker who volunteers at Mujlad Hospital, said the facility was cut off from government support after the RSF took the city in late 2023, and that it was already suffering from a lack of equipment, staff, and basic supplies.
“The state stopped supporting the hospital with anything, even fuel,” he said. “The medical situation is disastrous, even before the attack. But I can't describe the brutality of the attack.”
The World Health Organization (WHO) said more than 40 civilians, including six children and five health workers, were killed in the strike, while dozens more were injured. Ibrahim said four RSF personnel were among the dead. The Sudan Tribune reported that a number of RSF personnel were being treated at the site following the fighting in Babanusa.
The hospital is one of the primary health facilities in West Kordofan and has the state’s only dialysis unit. Ibrahim said two of the unit’s three dialysis machines broke after the start of the war and that, of 35 initial patients, 12 subsequently died. Replacement machines secured through local fundraising efforts, helped by international aid groups, arrived just a week before the strike. All have now been damaged beyond repair.
“They weren't even fully operational before they were completely destroyed,” Ibrahim said. “I am heartbroken. People contributed everything they had to get these machines, only to lose them.”
He said patients would now have to go to South Sudanese capital Juba - around 700 miles away by road - to receive treatment, an option many could not afford, and that the prospect of future attacks was also exacerbating existing staff shortages.
“We might manage to get other machines, but we are losing people because everyone is afraid and thinking of leaving,” he said. “We are now what the SAF government refers to as ‘RSF communities’, and nothing can guarantee that we won't be targeted again.”
See the Voices From The Ground section below for Ibrahim’s full testimony
In a statement, the Sudan Doctors Network (SDN) named one of those killed in the strike as Dr. Mawaddah Rahmatullah. It added that the attack was targeting members of the RSF inside the hospital. One report named Hasib Hasoub, a field commander with the group, as being among the dead.
The Emergency Lawyers human rights group called the strike a “criminal act”, while the WHO said attacks on healthcare facilities “must end immediately”.
Ten people reported killed by RSF shelling of El Fasher
In El Fasher, in the neighbouring state of North Darfur, 10 people were killed and 20 others were injured in shelling on the Abu Shouk displacement camp on Tuesday, Dabanga reports.
Eyewitnesses said the city was hit by drone strikes and artillery shelling throughout the day, though added that there was no ground fighting.
El Fasher is the only major city in North Darfur not yet under RSF control and in recent months has been under an ever-tightening siege, causing widespread malnutrition and a collapse in basic services.
An estimated 642 households were displaced from El Fasher and Abu Shouk between 18 and 24 June because of heightened insecurity and deteriorating economic conditions, according to the International Organisation for Migration.
Earlier this month, the SDN said a total of 179 people had been killed by RSF shelling of El Fasher in May, while 12 others died because of a shortage of food or medicine.
Interviews available on request. Names have been changed due to safety concerns.
Ibrahim, a health worker who volunteers at Al-Mujlad Hospital, told Avaaz:
“Al-Mujlad was always forgotten even before the war. West Kordofan was always neglected in general. Things [at the hospital] were relatively normal after the war began, as we were supported by the state, up until the SAF withdrew from Al-Mujlad in November 2023 and the RSF entered the city.
“The state stopped supporting the hospital with anything, even fuel. We were completely cut off from government support and had to start working on our own, especially after the RSF entered Al-Fulah. We started as young people to mobilize and help save the dialysis centre, particularly because it's the only one in the entire state. As the RSF entered more cities in the state, more displaced people arrived in Mujlad. We now have 14 displacement centres around the city.
“We had 35 patients who needed dialysis treatment and three dialysis machines. Two broke down at the start of the war, leaving us with only one operating machine. We lost four patients. We decided to mobilise and find a way to fix the machines. We approached MSF (Médecins Sans Frontières) to support us, and a delegation came from Juba [the capital of South Sudan]. They visited the hospital and provided us with much-needed support in medicine.
“After the MSF delegation left, the RSF took control of the city and formed a committee that took over running the hospital. They controlled the medicine supply and everything in the hospital. When we spoke out against this, we were targeted by the RSF.
“We started losing more people from the remaining 31 dialysis patients until we only had 23 patients left. We were trying at that time to find solutions and fix the machines. We created a Nafeer group [a grassroots aid initiative] where the local community could contribute to fixing the machines. The estimated cost was $18,000. We managed to collect $4,000, and we approached the NRC [Norwegian Refugee Council] through our ERR [Emergency Response Room]. They got us the dialysis machines. The machines arrived seven days before the attack on the hospital. They weren't even fully operational before they were completely destroyed.
“We now suffer from a lack of medical staff. The war displaced many people, including much-needed doctors and nurses. There are serious equipment shortages, and everything is very expensive. To put things into perspective, an empty bag that we need for blood transfusion costs 30,000 Sudanese pounds ($50). I can't even explain the prices of medicine. The doctors are under immense pressure.
“We had a centre that was working really well to relieve some of the pressure off Mujlad Hospital—the Alwaladain Medical Center. However, the main doctor was accused of collaborating with the SAF and was detained by the RSF. He was taken to Darfur, and no one knows what happened to him.
“The medical situation is disastrous, even before the attack. But I can't describe the brutality of the attack on the hospital. Forty-one people were killed: four of them were with the RSF (one was with the RSF medical committee and the rest were soldiers), and the remaining 37 killed were all civilians, from patients to medical staff. We lost three volunteers who worked with the Red Crescent.
“I am heartbroken over the losses [at the dialysis centre]. We really tried our best, and it's now gone to waste. People contributed everything they had to get these machines, only to lose them. Now the patients have to move to Juba to get their life-saving treatment. Many of them can't afford that. To put things into perspective, it costs $100 per session in Juba and requires a very long journey from Mujlad to Na'am, Abyei [a disputed territory between Sudan and South Sudan], and then to Juba [the distance from Mujlad to Juba is around 700 miles by road].
“But we don't even have time to be heartbroken. We need to think of other alternatives. Now, a couple of days after the attack, we are trying to use the medical school in the city to replace the hospital. We might manage to get other machines, but we are losing people because everyone is afraid and thinking of leaving. We are now what the SAF government refers to as ‘RSF communities’, and nothing can guarantee that we won't be targeted again.”
The weekly dispatch features the latest developments, first-hand testimony, footage, photos, stats and analysis on Sudan. We can connect you with voices from the ground, experts and survivors of the war. Get in touch via +44 7935 296 004 or sudan@avaaz.org.
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