WNAM MONITORING: The medical group Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said Thursday that it was forced to withdraw from several areas in North Darfur state in western Sudan following drone attacks by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
In a statement, MSF said the localities of Kornoi, Tine, and Um Baru have witnessed a sharp increase in drone strikes in recent days, forcing hundreds of civilians to flee toward neighboring Chad.
The organization said that a drone hit Kornoi Hospital on Nov. 3, killing and injuring several patients, including children and two pregnant women.
According to the statement, MSF teams in Tine, Chad, have since received 50 patients injured in drone strikes in North Darfur since Oct. 24.
The organization said its teams were “temporarily forced to withdraw” from the area because of the ongoing attacks, but are working to return and support healthcare facilities despite the risks.
“MSF is deeply concerned about the impact of drone strikes on civilians and humanitarian access and horrified that a hospital was hit,” said Dago Inagbe, MSF Coordinator for North Darfur.
“Attacks on healthcare facilities endanger lives and force some of the few remaining health services to shut down. Hospitals must always be safe places where people can get the care they need.”
On Oct. 26, the RSF captured the city of El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, and committed massacres against civilians, according to local and international organizations, amid warnings that the assault could entrench the geographical partition of Sudan.
Since April 15, 2023, the Sudanese army and the RSF have been locked in a war that regional and international mediations have failed to end. The conflict has killed thousands of people and displaced millions of others.
