“WHO Appalled by the recent attack on Southern Hospital, the only facility with surgical capabilities in El FryerDarfur,” the UN agency said in a post on X. “The hospital closure following the attack has put two other hospitals there beyond capacity, further limiting access to life-saving service.”
According to reports, the hospital was closed after soldiers of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) entered the building and opened fire. The NGO that helps run the hospital, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), said on X that armed militants had stolen equipment and ambulances.
Wad Al-Nura fallout
In a related social media post, WHO condemned “another attack” on a medical facility in Wad Al-Nura in Al-Jazirah state south of Khartoum, killing a nurse on duty and providing care. The patient died at that time. .
“WHO strongly condemns attacks on the health care sector. Healthcare workers and patients should not have to risk their lives to provide and access healthcare services”, the UN agency said, days after an attack on the village allegedly by RSF paramilitaries involving heavy artillery left more than 100 people dead.
Warning from the head of authority
United Nations human rights chief Volker Türk spoke out Friday to widespread international condemnation of that attack, in which he cited evidence collected by his Office “that shows the RSF used weapons with wide area effects, including artillery shells, in the attack.”
Previously, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights speak out against the “deeply devastating impact” on civilians of clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF in El Fasher in the far west of the vast country.
In addition to personal calls in private phone calls to generals of rival armies, Mr. Türk also warned that more than 1.8 million residents and internally displaced people were besieged in the city. “and facing the imminent threat of famine”.
The High Commissioner asserted that any further escalation “would have a catastrophic impact on civilians and would deepen inter-communal conflict with dire humanitarian consequences”.
Hunger crisis
The humanitarian emergency caused by fierce fighting that erupted across Sudan last April is now close to becoming a state of emergency. the world’s largest hunger crisis.
According to the United Nations World Food Program (WFP), 18 million people in Sudan are suffering from severe food insecurity, including nearly 5 million people who are currently in a state of emergency level hunger..
“This is the highest number ever recorded for a harvest season… Around 90% of those experiencing emergencies are in areas where access is extremely limited due to fighting and restrictions,” WFP said. serious”.
