A devastating drone attack on the last operational hospital in El Fasher, the capital of Sudan’s North Darfur state, has claimed the lives of at least 70 people. The strike, which occurred late Friday, targeted the Saudi Teaching Maternal Hospital, a facility packed with patients seeking care, according to reports from local officials and the World Health Organization.

The victims were primarily women and children, Sudan’s foreign ministry revealed, calling the attack a “massacre.” This incident is the latest in a series of violent escalations in Sudan’s 20-month civil war, a brutal conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The war has already displaced over 11 million people and caused the deaths of more than 20,000.

Friday’s attack is not an isolated tragedy. Last month, more than 100 people were killed when bombs struck a crowded market in North Darfur. The Saudi hospital, which had previously been hit by an airstrike in August, is the only facility in El Fasher capable of performing surgeries and treating the wounded. Its destruction leaves the region’s already dire healthcare system in shambles.

The RSF, which controls much of Darfur but has yet to capture El Fasher, faces accusations of carrying out the strike. However, the group has not commented on the allegations. Meanwhile, SAF and RSF leaders frequently blame each other for attacks on civilian areas, with both sides vying for dominance in the region.

The WHO has condemned the attack, emphasizing that it worsens an already critical healthcare crisis. “Access to health care is already severely constrained due to the closure of health facilities following intense bombardments,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. He called for an immediate end to the fighting and urged warring parties to protect medical facilities. Above all, he stressed, “Sudan’s people need peace. The best medicine is peace.”