The last functioning hospital in Sudan’s Darfur region became a killing field where hundreds of doctors, patients, and civilians were massacred by paramilitary forces in what experts are calling a deliberate act of ethnic cleansing.
Story Overview
- RSF paramilitary forces captured Al-Fashir, Darfur’s last government stronghold, in late October 2025
- Hundreds were killed at the Saudi maternity hospital, the city’s final operational medical facility
- Medical staff labeled as “heroes” were specifically targeted, killed, and abducted for ransom
- The massacre represents escalating ethnic violence amid Sudan’s ongoing civil war
The Final Stand at Al-Fashir
Al-Fashir represented more than just another battlefield in Sudan’s brutal civil war—it was the last bastion of government control in Darfur, sheltering 1.5 million civilians, most of them internally displaced refugees. When the Rapid Support Forces launched their final assault on October 26-27, 2025, they weren’t just capturing territory; they were completing a systematic campaign of ethnic cleansing that has plagued the region for over two decades.
The siege had trapped 260,000 civilians with dwindling supplies of food and medicine. The Saudi maternity hospital had become a symbol of resilience, operating as the sole functioning medical facility in a city under relentless bombardment. What happened next would shock even veteran observers of Sudan’s conflicts.
Massacre at the Last Hospital
Between October 28-31, RSF fighters systematically targeted the Saudi maternity hospital, turning what should have been a sanctuary into a slaughter house. The World Health Organization confirmed that hundreds of doctors, patients, and their companions were killed in what witnesses describe as a deliberate massacre. Several medical staff were abducted and held for ransom, robbing the city of its remaining healthcare providers.
The Sudan Doctors Network characterized the hospital attack as “a crime of ethnic cleansing,” highlighting how medical professionals were specifically targeted. These doctors had remained at their posts despite months of siege conditions, earning them recognition as heroes among the civilian population. Their murders and abductions weren’t collateral damage—they were strategic objectives designed to eliminate hope and healthcare infrastructure.
The RSF’s Systematic Campaign
The Rapid Support Forces didn’t emerge from nowhere. This paramilitary group evolved from the Janjaweed militias that perpetrated the Darfur genocide in the early 2000s, later formalized by dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2013. Led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as “Hemeti,” the RSF has consistently targeted non-Arab ethnic groups in Darfur with what UN officials describe as genocidal intent.
Yale Humanitarian Research Lab’s satellite analysis reveals the scope of destruction extends far beyond the hospital. Widespread burning, displacement, and infrastructure destruction paint a picture of deliberate ethnic cleansing. The pattern mirrors previous RSF attacks, including an April 2025 assault on the ZamZam displacement camp that killed hundreds of civilians already fleeing violence.
International Failure and Forgotten Genocide
The silence surrounding Sudan’s crisis stands in stark contrast to international attention given to other conflicts. While world leaders debate other humanitarian crises, an estimated tens of thousands have died in Sudan since fighting erupted in 2023. The communications blackout following Al-Fashir’s fall has made accurate death tolls impossible to determine, but satellite imagery and survivor testimonies suggest the true scale dwarfs official estimates.
Calls for humanitarian corridors and civilian protection have fallen on deaf ears. The international community’s failure to act decisively has emboldened the RSF to escalate their campaign of terror. Medical professionals who remained to serve their communities paid the ultimate price for this international negligence, their murders a testament to the cost of global indifference to systematic atrocities.
Sources:
NPR/KGOU: ‘Trapped and terrified’: warnings as Sudanese militia seize Darfur city
