BRUSSELS 

The World Health Organization (WHO) said Monday that the Saudi Maternity Hospital -- the last remaining partially functional hospital in Sudan's El-Fasher region -- was attacked over the weekend.

In a post on the US social media company X’s platform, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that according to reports, one nurse was killed and three other health workers were injured in the incident.

"There is a communication blackout and we cannot verify further developments at and around the hospital," he wrote.

Tedros called for an immediate end to hostilities, the protection of health personnel and patients, and unhindered humanitarian access to deliver medical aid.

Last Thursday, four UN agencies -- the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the World Food Program (WFP) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) -- said that 260,000 civilians are trapped in El-Fasher, including 130,000 children suffering from acute food shortages and a lack of health care services.

El-Fasher has witnessed fierce fighting for weeks between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) following a multi-front assault by the paramilitary group, which has surrounded the city from five directions in an attempt to seize control of it due to its strategic importance.

The RSF has been besieging El-Fasher since May 10, 2024.

Fighting between the army and the RSF has been going on since April 2023, which has killed thousands of people and displaced millions of others.