Overview
- The drone strike that hit Al Daein Teaching Hospital on Friday, March 20, killed roughly 64 to 70 people and shut down the only referral hospital for East Darfur.
- WHO says the dead include 13 children and health workers and that 146 people were injured, with more than 2 million residents now facing trips of about 160 kilometers for advanced care.
- A new Yale Humanitarian Research Lab review of satellite images shows multiple precise impacts and no damage to nearby buildings, indicating the hospital was specifically targeted.
- Responsibility remains disputed as the RSF and local monitors blame the army and the army denies it, while the UN rights office notes both warring parties use drones and warns such attacks may violate the laws of war.
- Fearing spillover, Chad is relocating refugees and readying troops after cross‑border drone strikes killed civilians in Tiné, in a conflict where the UN has logged over 500 civilian deaths from drone strikes between January and mid‑March.