The World Health Organization (WHO) expressed deep concern Thursday over recent deadly attacks in Sudan’s Darfur region, which have left dozens dead and many more injured.
“The recent attacks in Kabkabiya, North Darfur, which have claimed at least 80 lives and injured hundreds, are shocking,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus on X. He added, “Our sympathies go out to the affected communities in Sudan.”
The pro-democracy Emergency Lawyers group reported a higher death toll from Monday’s airstrike on Kabkabiya, located about 180 kilometers west of El-Fasher, the state capital under siege by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since May. According to the group, the airstrike occurred on the town’s weekly market day, when people from surrounding villages had gathered, resulting in more than 100 deaths and hundreds of injuries, including women and children.
These casualties were part of at least 176 people killed over two days of army and paramilitary strikes across Sudan this week, based on an AFP tally of figures provided by officials, activists, and lawyers.
Both the Sudanese army and the RSF, who have been engaged in conflict since April 2023, have been accused of indiscriminately attacking civilians and bombing residential areas.
The ongoing civil war in Sudan has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced 12 million people. Nearly nine million of these individuals are internally displaced, living in areas with destroyed infrastructure and at risk of mass starvation. The United Nations estimates that nearly 26 million people—about half the population—are facing acute hunger.
Darfur, a region the size of France, is home to a quarter of Sudan’s population, but more than half of its displaced people. The RSF controls most of Darfur, as well as parts of southern Kordofan and central Sudan, while the army holds the north and east of the country.
Tedros further warned that health facilities in Darfur are struggling to meet the region’s medical needs due to non-functional equipment and shortages of supplies. He added that WHO had managed to deliver trauma and surgical supplies earlier this month to help treat the injured and prevent further loss of life.