A drone strike by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) hit Al-Jabelen Hospital in Sudan’s White Nile State on April 2, killing at least 10 people and injuring more than 20 others, according to field reports and official statements reviewed by Sudan War Monitor.
The strike appears to be a retaliatory operation following a Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) attack on a hospital in RSF-held East Darfur state capital less than two weeks earlier.
The strike targeted a functioning medical facility in a town under SAF control along the Nile corridor south of Khartoum, an area that has remained outside active frontline combat but serves as a key administrative and service hub. The location and timing of the strike indicate deliberate targeting of civilian infrastructure rather than incidental damage linked to ongoing fighting.
Multiple sources who spoke to Sudan War Monitor said the RSF drone strike resulted in at least 10 fatalities and more than 20 injuries. The casualties included medical staff, administrative personnel, and civilians present at the hospital at the time of the attack.
Among those reported killed were Dr. Hamed Suleiman, the hospital’s director, who was killed while performing surgery, and Dr. Ilham Hamed, the administrative director. Additional victims included hospital employees and local personnel, according to local casualty listings compiled after the strike.
The Sudanese Federal Ministry of Health confirmed that the attack killed 10 medical and administrative staff and injured 22 civilians. It also reported the complete destruction of the hospital’s operating complex and emergency departments, effectively disabling the facility’s ability to provide surgical and emergency care.
Medical sources in White Nile State said the hospital had served as a primary referral center for surrounding communities, meaning its loss will significantly reduce access to urgent and routine healthcare in the area. The strike occurred outside active combat zones, reinforcing assessments that the facility was intentionally targeted.
The April 2 attack follows a March 20 SAF drone strikes on Al-Daein Teaching Hospital in East Darfur, an RSF-controlled area, which hit the emergency department of the facility during the first day of Eid al-Fitr. That strike caused mass casualties, including among children, and rendered key sections of the hospital non-functional.
Sudan War Monitor has previously reported and reviewed graphic images from the Al-Daein trajedy showing wounded children receiving treatment inside damaged hospital wards. Video footage from the aftermath also showed extensive destruction to emergency and inpatient sections of the facility.
The sequence of the two incidents—first in RSF-held territory and then in SAF-held White Nile—indicates a pattern of cross-line targeting of medical infrastructure by both parties. These locations are not active frontlines but urban centers providing core civilian services, underscoring the operational nature of the strikes.
In a statement following the Al-Jabelen attack, Sudan’s Federal Ministry of Health condemned the strike, saying it resulted in the death of medical personnel and civilians and constituted a violation of international law. The ministry said the hospital’s operating and emergency units were completely destroyed.
“The Federal Ministry of Health condemns the targeting of Al-Jabalain Hospital in White Nile State by the Rapid Support Forces militia using a drone, which resulted in the death of 10 medical and administrative staff, including the hospital’s Director General, Dr. Hamed Suleiman, while performing a surgical operation, and the injury of 22 civilians, along with the complete destruction of the operating complex and emergency departments.”
“The Ministry affirms that these practices constitute a blatant violation of international law, praising the medical personnel, extending mercy to the souls of the martyrs, and wishing a speedy recovery to the injured.”
Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs framed the attack as a deliberate strike on a critical civilian facility in a stable area and linked it to what it described as a broader RSF pattern of targeting infrastructure in government-held territory.
“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation strongly condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the treacherous terrorist attack carried out by the terrorist Rapid Support Forces militia using an offensive drone, targeting the hospital in the city of Al-Jabalain, White Nile State, on Thursday, 2 April 2026.”
“This heinous crime deliberately targeted the only healthcare facility serving the population in the area, in flagrant violation of international law, norms, and humanitarian principles.”
The RSF did not issue a formal statement on the Al-Jabelen attack.
International Reaction
International reactions focused on the White Nile incident, with Gulf states issuing condemnations. Saudi Arabia described the strike as “a blatant violation of international law, international humanitarian law,” while calling for adherence to the Jeddah Declaration signed in May 2023.
Qatar also condemned the attack, stating that the targeting of the hospital “represents a blatant violation of international humanitarian law” and called for urgent action to protect civilian infrastructure.
The Muslim World League also condemned the Al-Jabelen attack. None of these actors issued statements regarding the earlier Al-Daein strike in RSF-controlled East Darfur.
In contrast, the United Arab Emirates—widely identified as a political ally and arms supplier to the RSF—condemned the Al-Daein hospital strike but did not issue a statement on the Al-Jabelen incident.
The pattern of selective international responses mirrors the alignment of external actors with opposing sides of the conflict and highlights the absence of a consistent position on the protection of medical facilities.
The two incidents form part of a broader pattern of attacks on healthcare infrastructure across Sudan since the start of the war in April 2023. Hospitals in El Fasher, Nyala, El Obeid, Khartoum, Wad Madani, and multiple towns in Kordofan have been struck, occupied, or rendered non-functional, reducing access to care for millions of civilians.
