Al Jazeera Observatory for Human Rights
Local sources and eyewitnesses reported that more than 100 civilians, including women and children, were killed and wounded in a drone attack on the emergency and pediatric wards of Al-Daein Hospital in East Darfur State yesterday, the first day of Eid al-Fitr. The incident marks a new phase in the Sudanese war, escalating from ground attacks to drone strikes.
According to consistent local reports, a drone targeted several departments within Al-Daein Hospital in East Darfur State yesterday evening.
According to preliminary statistics from the state Ministry of Health and several sources on the ground, the death toll from the attack reached 39, including 12 children, 6 women, and 21 men. The number of wounded reached 78. Citizens described the attack as a war crime, claiming the lives of unarmed civilians, including women, children, and the elderly, who have no connection to the war or the warring parties that have been fighting for three years.
Several sources reported that dozens of bodies remain under the rubble as emergency medical teams continue their efforts to recover them, hoping to find survivors. However, as of the time of this report, no survivors have been found despite the ongoing efforts since last night.
A number of city residents revealed that the attack has completely paralyzed the hospital and caused a severe shortage of health services and treatment. They stated that the attack primarily targeted sick people seeking medical care, which they considered a violation of civilians’ right to the most basic necessities of life.
This attack, and similar attacks targeting civilians, patients, and their companions—including children, women, and the elderly—as well as civilian facilities, service centers, and hospitals, constitute a grave violation of all international laws that prohibit targeting civilians who have no connection to the fighting. Such attacks can be classified as full-fledged war crimes, given that they targeted civilians in a hospital seeking treatment and who have no connection to the parties involved in the conflict.
We demand an immediate, independent, and impartial investigation to identify, expose, and prosecute those responsible for these attacks in accordance with international humanitarian law. We emphasize the need to protect civilians in conflict zones and to stop the repeated violations committed against them by both sides of the ongoing conflict, and to end their involvement in this senseless war.
We call upon the international community, UN agencies, and humanitarian organizations to take urgent action to monitor and document these harsh events endured by the population there, and to assist in searching for survivors under the rubble, recovering the remaining victims, and burying the bodies.
With this attack, the Sudanese war enters a dangerous new phase, targeting civilians in hospitals, water sources, and service areas with drone strikes. There are fears that the war will expand and target new, safe areas, with Sudanese civilians paying the price through killing, displacement, and arrest, in addition to the destruction of infrastructure.
We at Al Jazeera Observatory for Human Rights,warn that impunity opens the door to further violations and undermines any humanitarian truce, in addition to squandering opportunities for political dialogue and peaceful settlements at a time when Sudanese civilians are living in catastrophic conditions.
