WHO reports over 100 killed in Sudan hospital attack
World Health Organization (WHO) Director‑General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on Monday called the drone strike that hit a kindergarten and a hospital in Kalogi, South Kordofan, Sudan, a “senseless” attack that killed one‑hundred fourteen people, including sixty‑three children.
The assault took place on Thursday when armed drones hit the kindergarten first, then a nearby hospital, and again as rescuers tried to move the injured. The United Nations estimates that more than half of the dead were children.
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), one of the two warring factions in Sudan’s civil war, has been blamed for the strike by the Sudanese army and the Sudan Doctors’ Network, a medical association that monitors health‑care attacks.
In a separate development, the RSF announced it had seized Heglig, Sudan’s largest oil‑producing field on the border with South Sudan, a move the army says aims to protect the facilities from damage.
Sudan has been mired in conflict since April 2023 when a power struggle erupted between the RSF and the national army, both formerly allies. The fighting has displaced millions and disrupted vital services across the country.
The Kordofan belt – comprising North, South and West Kordofan – lies between Khartoum and Darfur and has become a frontline. Its eight‑million‑strong population faces escalating violence as army troops push towards RSF‑held Darfur.
According to WHO’s Attacks on Health Care monitoring system, one‑hundred fourteen people were killed and thirty‑five injured in the Kalogi attack.
Essam al‑Din al‑Sayed, head of the Kalogi administrative unit, told AFP that the first drone hit the kindergarten, the second struck the hospital, and a third struck rescuers as they tried to evacuate children.
The RSF has not commented on the allegation. The group previously denied targeting civilians, yet Tedros accused it in October of killing hundreds at the main hospital in El‑Fasher, Darfur.
Tedros said survivors were transferred to Abu Jebaiha Hospital in South Kordofan and urged the international community to mobilise blood donations and medical supplies.
“We deplore these senseless attacks on civilians and health facilities,” the WHO statement read, adding that urgent access for humanitarian aid is needed to prevent further loss of life.
Calling for an end to hostilities, Tedros posted on X that “Sudanese have suffered far too much – ceasefire now.” Ghanaian NGOs and the Ghana‑based diaspora have echoed the plea, urging the United Nations to pressure all parties to respect health‑care neutrality.
Image Source: MYJOYONLINE
