WHO says strike on Sudan hospital kills at least 64
Attack on Al Deain Teaching Hospital renders facility non-functional
March 22, 2026
- Multiple patients, two female nurses, one male doctor among dead.
- 89 people, including eight health staff, wounded.
- Attack damages hospital’s paediatric, maternity, and emergency departments.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Saturday that a strike on a hospital in East Darfur, Sudan, killed at least 64 people, including children, medical staff and patients, Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X.
WHO said the Friday attack on Al Deain Teaching Hospital has rendered the facility non-functional, cutting off essential medical services in the city.
In a social media post, Ghebreyesus said that multiple patients, two female nurses and one male doctor were also among those killed in the attack on Al Deain Teaching Hospital in Al Deain, the capital of East Darfur state, on Friday night.
Another 89 people, including eight health staff, were wounded, he added.
The attack damaged the hospital’s paediatric, maternity, and emergency departments, rendering the facility non-functional and cutting off essential medical services in the city.
“As a result of this tragedy, the total number of fatalities linked to attacks on health facilities during Sudan’s war has now surpassed 2,000,” said Tedros, adding that over the nearly three-year conflict between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the WHO had confirmed the killing of 2,036 people in 213 attacks on healthcare.
There was no immediate information about who was behind the attack.
The war between the army and the RSF erupted in mid-April 2023, unleashing a wave of violence that has led to one of the world’s fastest-growing man-made humanitarian crises, with tens of thousands of people killed and more than 12 million forced from their homes.
Both sides have been accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity, while the RSF has been implicated in atrocities in Darfur that United Nations experts say bear the hallmarks of genocide.
“Enough blood has been spilled. Enough suffering has been inflicted,” Tedros said. “The time has come to de-escalate the conflict in Sudan and ensure the protection of civilians, health workers, and humanitarians.”
