The World Health Organization (WHO) has condemned the killing of more than 460 patients and companions at the Saudi Maternity Hospital in Al Fasher, northern Darfur, Sudan, following an attack carried out by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The paramilitary group seized control of the facility over the weekend, according to the UN health agency. 

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said he was “horrified and deeply shocked” by the incident and called for an immediate end to violence against health facilities and workers.

“All patients, health workers, and medical facilities must be protected under international humanitarian law,” Tedros wrote on X. 

Since the start of the conflict between the Sudanese Army and the RSF more than two and a half years ago, the WHO has verified at least 185 attacks on the country’s health network, leaving 1,204 people dead and 416 injured, including patients and medical personnel. 

The UN Human Rights Office also reported on Monday that RSF fighters carried out summary executions of civilians trying to flee Al Fasher after declaring full control of the city following an 18-month siege.

Preliminary findings suggest that some of these killings may have been ethnically motivated, adding to a conflict that has already claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced millions since 2023.