Reports of Hospital Casualties and Detentions Following RSF Takeover of El-Fasher, Sudan
Abdu-Rabbu Ahmed, a laboratory technician at Saudi Maternity Hospital in el-Fasher, Sudan, has provided an account of his escape from the city following its takeover by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in late October. Mr. Ahmed, currently residing in a displaced persons camp in Tawila, approximately 70km west of el-Fasher, stated he has lost colleagues and family members in the conflict.
Context of the Conflict
The RSF has been engaged in conflict with the Sudanese army since April 2023. El-Fasher, a regional hub, had been under an 18-month siege before the RSF asserted control. Reports have emerged detailing allegations of atrocities, some filmed by RSF fighters.
Accounts from Saudi Hospital
Mr. Ahmed stated he continued working at the Saudi Hospital throughout the war, despite regular shelling by artillery, tanks, and drones that caused damage to buildings and injured staff and patients. Medical staff reportedly shared limited food supplies as the RSF blockade intensified. Most personnel fled when the final RSF assault began.
Mr. Ahmed described shelling and drone attacks during his escape, stating he observed fatalities. Some medical workers reached Tawila, while others were reportedly detained in areas northwest of el-Fasher, including Garni, Turra, Hilla al-Sheikh, and Korma, with some allegedly transferred to Nyala. Mr. Ahmed reported receiving information that medical staff who remained at the hospital were executed. His sister and two brothers were reportedly killed that day, and his parents are missing.
Allegations and Corroboration
Allegations regarding the killing of at least 460 patients and their companions at Saudi Hospital have been reported by two Sudanese doctors' groups and an el-Fasher activist network. The World Health Organization (WHO) released a statement condemning the reported shootings and the abduction of six health workers. The RSF has denied these accusations, calling them disinformation, and released a video purporting to show female volunteers tending to patients within the hospital grounds.
Yale University's Humanitarian Research Lab reported that satellite imagery corroborated some accounts. An image from November 1 allegedly showed blood and white objects, described as bodies, within the hospital compound. A subsequent image from November 6 reportedly showed these objects charred with smoke rising from the area.
BBC Verify authenticated footage from the University of El-Fasher's Faculty of Medical Laboratory Sciences, which reportedly functioned as an extension of the Saudi Hospital. This footage depicted bodies on the floor and an RSF fighter shooting one of the men. Dr. Mohamed Elsheikh, a spokesman for the Sudan Doctors Network, stated that the RSF had demanded ransoms for abducted health workers. He reported that one abducted staff member was released after a ransom equivalent to $30,000 was paid, while another was reportedly executed. The status of the remaining four is unknown.
Civilian Experiences
Mohamed Abdu-Teia, a patient with a broken leg sustained in a shelling attack, reported fleeing el-Fasher on foot. He stated he was stopped and interrogated at the Garni checkpoint by RSF forces, who released him but detained two companions. He observed numerous injuries and deaths at Garni, reporting that RSF personnel took