The escalating violence against health workers in Khartoum, Sudan, is posing a grave threat to the limited number of hospitals still operational in the capital city. Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) reported a distressing incident where its employees were physically attacked and whipped by armed men just 700 metres away from the Turkish hospital on on July 20, one of the only two hospitals still functioning in southern Khartoum amidst nearly 100 days of fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The situation is becoming increasingly dire, with MSF expressing concerns about maintaining its presence at the hospital. The medical charity has been providing critical support by performing surgeries, treating chronic illnesses, and attending to about 15 people wounded in the conflict each day. However, if the safety and ability to move supplies are compromised again, MSF may find it untenable to continue its operations at the Turkish hospital.
The violence against healthcare workers and facilities is not an isolated incident but part of a disturbing pattern. Insecurity Insight informs that, there were at least nine attacks on healthcare workers or hospitals in Sudan between June 28 and July 11, with the deaths of at least eight healthcare workers documented during this period, along with incidents of looting and burning of medical facilities.
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), allegedly responsible for many of these attacks, have also been implicated in violence in the Darfur region, where attacks on the Masalit ethnic group have resulted in the closure of medical facilities and restricted the supply of essential medicines that usually arrive from Khartoum.
Earlier Daryo mentioned that, the situation in Sudan, specifically in Omdurman, has rapidly deteriorated into a severe and lethal conflict between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on July 11. There has been a significant increase in civilian casualties, including a horrifying incident where the Sudanese army targeted a market in Omdurman, resulting in the deaths of at least 30 individuals, mostly children and women. The clashes between the army and RSF have turned major Sudanese cities into battlegrounds, leading to immense suffering and displacement among civilians.
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