A man who escaped the last functioning hospital in the Sudanese city of el-Fasher before a reported massacre by paramilitary troops says he has lost all hope and happiness.
I have lost my colleagues, Abdu-Rabbu Ahmed, a laboratory technician at the Saudi Maternity Hospital, has told the BBC.
I have lost the people whose faces I used to see smiling... It feels as if you lost a big part of your body or your soul.
He has been speaking to us from a displaced persons camp in Tawila some 70km (43 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, the regional hub that was taken over by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) at the end of October after an 18-month siege.
The RSF has been fighting the Sudanese army since April 2023, when a power struggle between their leaders erupted into a civil war.
The alleged killings of at least 460 patients and their companions at the Saudi Hospital emerged among shocking accounts of atrocities, with some videos surfacing on social media.
The World Health Organization (WHO) expressed its shock over the reported shootings and abductions of six health workers - including four doctors. The RSF denied these allegations, claiming that all hospitals in el-Fasher were abandoned.
Ahmed endured regular shelling while working in the hospital and witnessed the devastation as parts of the hospital were destroyed, and medical staff were forced to share scarce food supplies as the RSF blockade tightened.
The shelling started around six in the morning, Ahmed recounted. Civilians and soldiers scattered in terror, while drones and heavy artillery bombed indiscriminately. He has been left with deep concern for those remaining in el-Fasher.
As the RSF tightened its grip, many medical workers were captured or killed, and Ahmed lost several family members during the turmoil.
The terror inflicted by the RSF is echoed through the accounts of other survivors, who describe harrowing scenes of violence and loss. Young women and children were particularly vulnerable, with many families torn apart amid the chaos of violence in el-Fasher.
Despite the propaganda released by the RSF claiming care at hospitals continues, Ahmed’s bleak perspective underscores the palpable fears and the extent of the atrocities faced by civilians caught in the conflict.
I have lost my colleagues, Abdu-Rabbu Ahmed, a laboratory technician at the Saudi Maternity Hospital, has told the BBC.
I have lost the people whose faces I used to see smiling... It feels as if you lost a big part of your body or your soul.
He has been speaking to us from a displaced persons camp in Tawila some 70km (43 miles) to the west of el-Fasher, the regional hub that was taken over by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) at the end of October after an 18-month siege.
The RSF has been fighting the Sudanese army since April 2023, when a power struggle between their leaders erupted into a civil war.
The alleged killings of at least 460 patients and their companions at the Saudi Hospital emerged among shocking accounts of atrocities, with some videos surfacing on social media.
The World Health Organization (WHO) expressed its shock over the reported shootings and abductions of six health workers - including four doctors. The RSF denied these allegations, claiming that all hospitals in el-Fasher were abandoned.
Ahmed endured regular shelling while working in the hospital and witnessed the devastation as parts of the hospital were destroyed, and medical staff were forced to share scarce food supplies as the RSF blockade tightened.
The shelling started around six in the morning, Ahmed recounted. Civilians and soldiers scattered in terror, while drones and heavy artillery bombed indiscriminately. He has been left with deep concern for those remaining in el-Fasher.
As the RSF tightened its grip, many medical workers were captured or killed, and Ahmed lost several family members during the turmoil.
The terror inflicted by the RSF is echoed through the accounts of other survivors, who describe harrowing scenes of violence and loss. Young women and children were particularly vulnerable, with many families torn apart amid the chaos of violence in el-Fasher.
Despite the propaganda released by the RSF claiming care at hospitals continues, Ahmed’s bleak perspective underscores the palpable fears and the extent of the atrocities faced by civilians caught in the conflict.
