RSF turns Sudan hospital into military base as healthcare collapses and children flee war zones

Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have transformed large parts of Al-Nuhud Hospital in West Kordofan into a military command post and barracks, effectively stripping the facility of its ability to function as a hospital, according to the Sudan Doctors Network.

In a statement released Friday, the medical advocacy group said the RSF has occupied the hospital since seizing control of the city more than five months ago, blocking its primary role as a critical healthcare provider for civilians.

“This military use of the health facility constitutes a blatant violation of the sanctity of medical institutions and undermines civilians’ right to access treatment,” the group said on Facebook.

It added that accusations of collaboration against some medical staff triggered a wave of departures, leaving the hospital critically understaffed. “As a result, the hospital is suffering from a severe shortage of healthcare workers, leaving the remaining medical services extremely limited and unable to meet patients’ needs,” the statement said.

The takeover is another flashpoint in Sudan’s grinding civil war, which erupted in April 2023 between the RSF and its rival, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF). Despite repeated international efforts to broker peace, the conflict continues to devastate the country, killing tens of thousands and displacing millions — a crisis the UN now calls the world’s largest humanitarian disaster.

The fallout has been particularly brutal for children. Humanitarian groups report hundreds arriving traumatised and unaccompanied in Tawila, in Darfur, after the RSF seized control of el-Fasher last month.

The Norwegian Refugee Council said at least 400 children made the journey without parents, though the real number is likely much higher. The fall of el-Fasher came after an 18-month siege that cut residents off from food, medicine and basic supplies.

RSF fighters have been accused of mass killings, kidnappings and widespread sexual violence in the city. The Sudanese army has also faced allegations of atrocities during the conflict, further deepening the spiral of lawlessness.

The United States has proposed a ceasefire plan, but neither side has formally accepted it. The RSF announced a unilateral halt to hostilities this week, but the SAF said it repelled an RSF attack on a base in Babnusa, signalling how fragile any pause remains.

Sudan’s army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, urged US President Donald Trump to step in, writing that “The Sudanese people now look to Washington to take the next step… to end this war.”

Trump recently signalled interest in the crisis after pressure from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, though attempts to reconcile Burhan and RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo have repeatedly failed.