The intensification of drone strikes in the Tina area of northern Sudan, near the border with Chad, is driving a sharp rise in the number of wounded being treated at local medical facilities, forcing teams at the MSF-supported hospital in Tiné to manage a steady influx of trauma victims.
Since early May, the Tina area has been hit by increasingly frequent drone strikes attributed to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Local residents report facing near-daily aerial attacks, sometimes enduring as many as five or six per day, in a border region already deeply scarred by the war in Darfur and the mass displacement of populations.
Medical teams on the ground report that 116 people wounded in these strikes have been admitted to Tiné hospital since the beginning of May alone. The intensity of the conflict was particularly severe between May 17 and 26, a brief window during which 69 casualties were treated. The deadliest single attack occurred on May 24, when a targeted strike hit a crowded cafeteria in the busy Tina market. This incident resulted in 35 wounded patients being admitted as emergencies, while three individuals tragically passed away upon arrival at the hospital, and several other victims are believed to have died on the spot.
Issiaka Abdou, the MSF Head of Mission in Chad, highlighted the immense logistical challenges facing medical responders, noting that patients frequently arrive after hours of transport in critical condition. The injuries are typically severe, characterized by major burns, blast trauma, and complex multiple injuries, meaning that evacuation delays significantly reduce a patient’s chance of survival. Furthermore, medical staff have noted a troubling trend regarding the growing number of women and children among the casualties. Abdou pointed out that on May 26, all patients admitted following the strikes were civilians, reflecting the extreme level of exposure faced by populations living in this border area.
In a region already weakened by mass displacement and limited access to healthcare, local facilities are operating under exceptionally difficult conditions. Cissé Boucari Hamadoum, the MSF Project Coordinator in Tiné, emphasized that while needs are very high, resources remain strictly limited. Despite these hurdles, teams continue to provide emergency care and manage mass casualty influxes in close coordination with Chadian health authorities. Médecins Sans Frontières is currently providing direct care for patients at Tiné hospital and organizing transfers to larger facilities, including those in Abéché, for the most serious cases. As the strikes continue without pause, humanitarian organizations are warning of a rapid deterioration of the situation and the growing vulnerability of civilians trapped in this border zone.
TE/Sf/lb/abj/APA