Hospitals deliberately targeted by Sudan's RSF fighters, BBC investigation finds

A BBC investigation has found that hospitals were deliberately targeted by fighters from Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces, or RSF. The report highlights the experience of medical staff at el-Fasher’s Saudi Hospital, where an attack disrupted care during a critical procedure.

Caesarean performed by phone light

On the day the hospital was bombed, medics at the Saudi Hospital carried out a Caesarean section using light from mobile phones. The account shows how the attack directly affected medical treatment inside the facility.

The incident is the specific example identified in the report of the wider finding that hospitals were deliberately targeted by RSF fighters. It links the investigation’s conclusion to the conditions faced by medical teams working at the hospital in el-Fasher.

Why the finding matters

Hospitals are places where medical staff provide care to patients. The BBC’s finding places the bombing of the Saudi Hospital within a reported pattern of deliberate attacks on such facilities by the RSF.

The available account does not provide further details about the number of hospitals involved, the date of the bombing, or the consequences beyond the disruption described at el-Fasher’s Saudi Hospital. It does, however, document the extraordinary measure taken by medics to continue a Caesarean during the attack.

The BBC investigation’s central finding is that hospitals in Sudan were not merely caught in the fighting but were deliberately targeted by RSF fighters.