Over 100 Killed in Sudan Kindergarten and Hospital Attacks: WHO Reports Dozens of Children Among Victims

A series of devastating attacks on December 4 began with multiple strikes targeting a kindergarten in Sudan's South Kordofan state.

Geneva:

The World Health Organization reported on Monday that more than 100 individuals, including numerous children, lost their lives in brutal attacks on a kindergarten in Sudan. The violence continued even as parents and caregivers desperately transported wounded victims to a nearby medical facility.

Throughout Sudan's ongoing civil war, which has now lasted more than two and a half years, health facilities near frontline areas have frequently been targeted. Reuters previously documented a massacre that occurred in the city of al-Fashir in October.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus stated on X that the recent December 4 attacks involved repeated strikes on a kindergarten in South Kordofan state. He added, "Disturbingly, paramedics and responders came under attack as they tried to move the injured from the kindergarten to the hospital."

Sudan's Foreign Ministry issued a condemnation of the attacks, attributing them to drone operations conducted by the Rapid Support Forces.

According to the WHO database, the attackers employed heavy weaponry, resulting in 114 fatalities—including 63 children—and leaving 35 people wounded.

A spokesperson for the WHO clarified that the casualty figures encompass victims from the initial kindergarten strikes, those injured during patient transfers to the adjacent rural hospital, and casualties from attacks on the medical facility itself. The majority of child fatalities occurred during the first strike, while parents and medical personnel were among those killed in subsequent attacks.

The RSF did not immediately respond when asked for comment. In previous statements, the group has denied harming civilians and pledged to hold its forces accountable for any violations.

Tedros reported that survivors have been relocated to an alternative hospital, with urgent appeals being made for medical assistance and blood donations.