At least 85 people injured in fighting in El Fasser have succumbed to just one hospital in this western Sudanese city since May 10, the non-governmental organization Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) announced on Tuesday.

The day before Monday, nine of the 60 wounded treated at the Southern Hospital, the only hospital that remains operational in El Faser, Darfur, succumbed, said Claire Nicolet, head of the NGO’s emergency department.

Fighting has raged in El Fassr since May 10 between elements of the armed forces under General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitaries of his one-time right-hand man turned nemesis, General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, more than a year after the armed conflict broke out. conflict in Sudan.

Even before these battles, the international community was warning against a threatened massacre in the capital of North Darfur state, the only one of Darfur’s five state capitals that has not yet fallen to the Rapid Support Force (RSF).

Since May 10, “707 wounded” have been hospitalized, of whom “85 have succumbed,” Claire Nicolet summarized in an MSF press release. According to the same source, there is only one surgeon left at this hospital.

“We only have supplies left for ten days in this hospital,” Mrs. Nicolet stressed, asking the warring parties to allow “safe access” to resupply the health structure.

On Friday, the DTY said it was willing to open “safe crossings” for civilians who want to leave El Faser.

The war in Sudan has claimed tens of thousands of lives since April 2023. Between 10,000 and 15,000 people were killed in El Jenaina, the capital of West Darfur alone, according to the UN.

El Fasser remained relatively unscathed from the war until recently, thanks to an agreement reached by the two most powerful local armed groups and the DTY. But last month, they renounced their neutrality and started fighting on the side of the armed forces. In retaliation, the DTY surrounded the city.