GENEVA 

The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) on Thursday condemned what it described as a "shocking attack" at El-Fasher Maternity Hospital in North Darfur, Sudan, where at least 460 patients and their families were reportedly killed following the seizure of the city by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

"To kill women as they prepare to bring new life into the world is an unspeakable atrocity," UNFPA Executive Director Diene Keita said in a statement.

"The world must not stand silent. Hospitals, meant to be sanctuaries of healing and hope, have been turned into scenes of mass killing and despair," she added, noting that the facility—the last partially functioning hospital in the capital—had been repeatedly attacked and its health workers abducted in recent weeks.

Keita stressed that "international humanitarian law is clear: patients, health professionals and medical facilities must be protected."

UNFPA called on those with influence "to stop the violence and hold alleged perpetrators to account for these egregious violations and abuses" and urged the protection of civilians, including humanitarian and health workers, as well as "rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access so that life-saving aid can be delivered to those in desperate need."

According to the World Health Organization, over 1,200 health workers and patients were killed and 416 injured in 185 verified RSF attacks since the start of the war in Sudan in 2023.

Since April 15, 2023, the army and the RSF have been locked in a war that numerous regional and international mediations have failed to end. The conflict has killed about 20,000 people and displaced over 15 million as refugees and internally displaced persons, according to UN and local reports.