Kosti, Sudan | May 6, 2026
The Sudan Doctors Network announced that the death toll among medical personnel has risen to 235 since the outbreak of the war in Sudan, following the killing of medical laboratory specialist Adel Moussa Al-Tijani in a drone attack that targeted civilian facilities in the city of Kosti, White Nile State.
In a statement issued Tuesday and received by (Sudan Now), the network said the slain medic was a graduate of the 22nd cohort of Imam Al-Mahdi University. He was killed on the morning of May 5 in what it described as a “deliberate shelling” by a drone operated by the RSF, which targeted civilian facilities in the city of Kosti.
The network added that repeated attacks on civilian areas are worsening the suffering of the population and increasing pressure on the already collapsing healthcare sector.
The network added that healthcare workers are among the groups most affected by the war, noting that 511 medical personnel have been injured. It also said that 84 healthcare workers remain in detention, including 20 held in prisons in Al Fashir, among them four female doctors, and a further 64 detained in prisons in Nyala.
The network stressed that targeting doctors and medical personnel constitutes a “blatant violation of international humanitarian law” and directly undermines the health system’s ability to respond to growing humanitarian needs, particularly amid the spread of epidemics and the deterioration of basic services across large parts of the country.
The network called on the international community, the World Health Organization, and health and human rights organizations to take effective steps to stop the targeting of civilians and healthcare workers, and to press for the release of detained doctors in Al Fashir and Nyala, amid what it described as “dire” humanitarian conditions.
Sudan’s healthcare sector has been experiencing a widespread collapse since the outbreak of fighting between the Sudanese army and the RSF in April 2023, with dozens of hospitals and health centers forced out of service due to the conflict, shortages of medical supplies, and the targeting of healthcare facilities.
UN agencies have repeatedly warned of deteriorating health conditions and the spread of disease, as medical teams face significant challenges in reaching patients and delivering essential care.
These developments come amid a recent escalation in drone attacks across several Sudanese states in recent days, including strikes on civilian facilities and critical infrastructure in Kosti, Khartoum, and Omdurman. The incidents have raised growing concerns over civilian safety and the impact of such attacks on humanitarian operations and essential services.
