MSF suspends activities at Zalingei Hospital in Central Darfur

August 20, 2025 (PEN) - Doctors Without Borders (MSF) announced that it was forced to suspend all its activities and reduce its medical teams at Zalingei Hospital in Central Darfur State, following an armed attack on the night of August 16 that killed one person and injured five others, including a Ministry of Health employee.

The organization said in a statement that the attack came after armed men entered the hospital following the arrival of a dead patient with gunshot wounds from a looting incident at a nearby camp for displaced persons. The situation escalated when another armed group arrived with another wounded patient. It explained that tensions between the two groups reached a peak at 10:00 p.m. when a hand grenade exploded outside the emergency room, killing the victims.

The statement quoted the organization's emergency coordinator in Darfur, Marwan Taher, as saying that the explosion "claimed one life, and could have resulted in more casualties had it occurred during the day." He emphasized that the decision to suspend operations "is not something any medical organization would want to take, but the lives of staff cannot be risked while providing care."

MSF confirmed that it would not resume operations at the hospital until it received "clear security guarantees from all relevant parties to protect staff and patients," noting that Zalingei Hospital is the only referral facility serving approximately half a million people and providing care for complex cases in the region.

According to the organization, a cholera outbreak since early August has killed seven people, while the hospital treated 162 cases over 16 days in cooperation with the Ministry of Health. The statement added that the hospital has provided more than 1,500 gynecological consultations, 1,400 pediatric consultations, and 80 surgical procedures since May, noting that the suspension of operations will leave thousands of civilians without basic care.

The organization recalled that Zalingei Hospital was stormed by armed men in February 2024, and cars were stolen, considering that "the August 16 incident was the second serious attack in a year and a half," it said.

Taher stressed that "attacks on hospitals and health workers are unacceptable and put people's lives at risk," adding, "We will not continue our work unless we receive explicit guarantees to protect our staff and Ministry of Health employees. The people of Zalingei are in dire need of healthcare, and their right to it must be protected."