BBC investigation documents systematic attacks on el-Fasher's healthcare system by Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary fighters during their 2024 siege and takeover of the Darfur city. Researchers found evidence of at least 43 separate attacks on hospitals and healthcare sites between May 2024 and October 2025, with some facilities hit multiple times.
UN human rights chief Volker Türk called the findings "deeply disturbing," stating the RSF attacks on civilian health infrastructure constituted serious violations of international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes. The RSF rejected the BBC's findings. Its health minister described the allegations as propaganda and an attempt by Sudan's military to damage the RSF's reputation.
The investigation documents severe impact on medical workers in el-Fasher. Between April 2023 and October 2025, the BBC's data shows 120 medical workers were injured, 55 killed, and 10 forcibly disappeared or abducted.
Dr Muhamed Suliman, a surgeon present during the siege, told the BBC: "The RSF started hitting these areas so citizens have no longer any way to stay there. It was intense. It was deliberate. It was planned."
El-Fasher's South Hospital, the city's only functioning surgical facility after the Teaching Hospital closed, came under repeated shelling in late May and early June 2024. On 8 June, RSF fighters raided the hospital. Hospital director Dr Izzeldin Ahmed Dawaud Asow said he was beaten with rifle butts and nearly killed before he feigned death. After the raid, he found patient bodies and destroyed surgical equipment in the operating room.
Dr Alaa Eldin Nugud, a surgeon now serving as health minister in the RSF-backed civilian government, claimed South Hospital was used as a military base and that missile launchers operated on its grounds. He shared video footage and maps allegedly showing weapons and landmines. Doctors denied the military incorporation claim. The BBC found no independent evidence supporting Dr Nugud's allegations.
The World Health Organization stated el-Fasher represents "one of the clearest and most severe examples" of conflict's impact on Sudanese healthcare. UN investigators reported fighting in el-Fasher bore "hallmarks of genocide," with Arab militias targeting non-Arab populations.