The World Health Organization (WHO) on Monday condemned a series of airstrikes that killed 114 people — including 63 children — in South Kordofan, Sudan, describing the attacks as “senseless” and deeply alarming.
The deadly incident occurred last Thursday in Kalogi, an army-controlled town, where a drone strike hit a kindergarten before targeting a nearby hospital.
According to Essam al-Din al-Sayed, head of the Kalogi administrative unit, a third strike occurred as residents attempted to rescue injured children.
Sudan has been engulfed in conflict since April 2023, as fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continues to escalate.
The war has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced nearly 12 million people. The RSF’s advances after the capture of El-Fasher have pushed the violence further into the oil-rich Kordofan region.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, citing the agency’s Attacks on Health Care monitoring system, revealed that the Kalogi Rural Hospital was hit at least three times between 6:00 am and noon.
Another 35 people were injured in the attack, with survivors transported to Abu Jebaiha Hospital for urgent treatment. Health workers also issued open calls for blood donations as they struggled to handle the casualties.
Tedros expressed concern that paramedics and first responders were themselves targeted as they attempted to evacuate injured children from the kindergarten to the hospital.
READ ALSO: Attack on Sudan Hospital in El-Fasher Kills 70, Injures 19
“WHO deplores these senseless attacks on civilians and health facilities,” he wrote on X. “Sudanese have suffered far too much. Ceasefire now!”
The UN health agency noted that it documents and verifies assaults on medical facilities but does not assign blame, as it is not an investigative body.
Its report on the Kalogi incident includes the use of heavy weaponry, obstruction of medical services, and psychological intimidation.
So far this year, the WHO has recorded 63 attacks on health facilities across Sudan, resulting in more than 1,600 deaths and over 250 injuries.
Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, through his spokesman, expressed outrage over the latest strikes.
He urged countries with influence over the warring parties to pressure them into an immediate halt to hostilities and to stem the flow of arms fueling the conflict.
The international community continues to call for unhindered humanitarian access as the crisis in Sudan worsens, with civilians — particularly children — bearing the brunt of the prolonged fighting.