Sudan’s notorious paramilitary group loots a Darfur hospital, aid group says

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CAIRO, June 10, (AP): The notorious Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group, fighting Sudan’s military for over a year, fired shots and looted a health facility in the western region of Darfur, forcing its closure, an international aid group said.
The RSF, attacked the South Hospital in al-Fasher, the capital city of North Darfur province on Sunday, opening fire on medical staff and patients, Doctors Without Borders said in a statement.
Images published by local media showed abandoned wards and corridors at the hospital, with patient beds and other medical equipment damaged and blood stains on the floor. Local news outlets also reported that the military managed to kick RSF fighters out of the hospital.
“It is outrageous that the RSF opened fire inside the hospital. This is not an isolated incident, as staff and patients have endured attacks on the facility for weeks from all sides, but opening fire inside a hospital crosses a line,” said Michel Lacharite, head of emergency operations at Doctors Without Borders.
At the time of the attack, there were 10 patients and a reduced medical crew as the aid group and the Sudanese health ministry had begun evacuating patients and transferring medical services last week to other facilities, the aid group said.
Most patients and the medical team, including Doctors Without Borders staff, managed to flee the shooting. It was not immediately clear whether there were casualties from the attack, according to the aid group.
However, Lacharite told The Associated Press the group’s staff found two bodies inside the facility and they identified them as an RSF fighter and a military soldier. The circumstances of their deaths were not immediately clear.
The attack came as the RSF intensified its offensive to try and wrest control of the city, the military’s last stronghold in the sprawling Darfur region. Two weeks of fighting last month in and around al-Fasher has killed more than 120 people.
Meanwhile, the military has allied itself with rebel groups and formed a joint force to retain control of the city, where hundreds of thousands of displaced people have taken shelter since the conflict began.

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