The Sudanese Alliance for Rights strongly condemns the brutal and unlawful drone strike carried out by the Sudanese army on Al-Muglad Referral Hospital in West Kordofan State on 21 June 2025, which resulted in the killing of 41 civilians, including medical staff, patients, and their companions.
This deliberate targeting of a civilian hospital—the only operational healthcare facility in the region—constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian and human rights law. Among the victims were women, children, and elderly persons, and dozens more were severely injured. The hospital itself was heavily damaged, with multiple bodies rendered unidentifiable due to the severity of the strike.
The hospital served as a vital lifeline for the community, providing care not only to local residents but also to displaced people fleeing the violence elsewhere in Sudan. Its destruction has deepened an already critical health and humanitarian crisis in the region, leaving countless civilians without access to essential medical care.
The intentional targeting of a protected medical facility during an armed conflict is a war crime under Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and a violation of the Geneva Conventions, particularly the Fourth Geneva Convention, which mandates the protection of medical units and civilian populations. It also breaches Sudan’s obligations under the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), both of which protect the right to life and the right to health.
The Sudanese Alliance for Rights calls for:
- An independent international investigation into this attack;
- The identification and prosecution of all those responsible for ordering or executing the strike;
- Immediate measures to restore medical services in West Kordofan and ensure safe access to healthcare for all civilians;
- Increased attention from the African Union, the United Nations Human Rights Council, and the International Criminal Court to address the escalating attacks on civilians in Sudan.
The attack on Al-Muglad Hospital is not an isolated tragedy—it is part of a wider pattern of disregard for civilian life by parties to the conflict in Sudan. We call on the international community to act swiftly to ensure accountability and to protect the lives and dignity of all Sudanese people.
Sudanese Alliance for Rights
22 June 2025
