KHARTOUM / ISTANBUL

At least 12 civilians were killed and 17 others injured when the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) shelled a hospital in Sudan’s North Darfur state, local doctors said Wednesday.

A female doctor and a nursing staff member were among the injured in the attack on the El-Fasher Hospital, the Sudan Doctors Network said.

The medical group denounced the RSF attack as a “full-fledged war crime” and “a complete disregard for the lives of civilians and international laws that protect health facilities and their workers.”

It appealed to the international community and the UN Security Council to take immediate action to stop attacks on health facilities and civilian homes and to protect the highly damaged health system in the city.

There was no immediate comment from the rebel group on the report.

The RSF has imposed a blockade on El-Fasher since May 10, 2024, despite international warnings about the dangers to the city, a hub for humanitarian operations in the five Darfur states.

Since mid-April 2023, clashes between Sudanese army forces and the RSF have killed more than 20,000 people and displaced some 15 million, according to UN and local authorities, while a study by American universities estimates the death toll at approximately 130,000.