Humanitarian crisis worsening… Half of Sudanese hospitals in Khartoum have stopped working
“Half of hospitals in Sudan’s capital have stopped functioning due to escalating clashes, according to a leading aid organization, as the number of casualties rises, with many of those injured in need of urgent medical care.”
“According to the information we have in Khartoum, 50% of hospitals have stopped functioning in the first 72 hours,” said Abdalla Hussein, MSF’s director of operations in Sudan. “This is because staff did not feel safe to go there or the hospitals themselves were bombed.”
Military Conditions Worsen in Khartoum
According to the World Health Organization, at least 270 people have been killed and more than 2,600 injured since Saturday’s clashes between the Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. At the heart of the conflict is a power struggle between the groups’ leaders. With residents fearing gunfire, international governments have called for a ceasefire so that authorities can distribute aid and coordinate evacuations amid attacks on foreign nationals, including diplomatic personnel, according to CNN.
Japan said Wednesday it was preparing to send its military to evacuate its citizens from Sudan.
The United States has not announced any plans to evacuate Americans in Sudan, but urged its citizens to stay at home, shelter in place, and stay out of windows. Other countries have posted guidelines for their citizens in Sudan, and China has asked its citizens there to remain vigilant and register their information online with the Chinese Embassy in Khartoum. Also on Tuesday, the Indian Embassy in Sudan issued an alert demanding its citizens to stay at home and maintain rations due to looting.
According to reports contained in an internal UN document seen by CNN, armed individuals sexually assaulted women and stole vehicle-related belongings. One rape was also reported. The report stated that these armed individuals, “reported to be members of the Rapid Support Forces, enter expatriates’ homes, separate men from women and take them away.”
“The RSF denied the allegations, blaming the SAF for crimes dressed in RSF uniforms, denying involvement in abuses and renewing accusations that the RSF has committed crimes against humanity.”
Theft of equipment
The medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said on Wednesday that militants had “stolen everything including vehicles and office equipment” from its compound in Nyala, South Darfur. “Our warehouses – which contain vital medical supplies, we don’t know to what extent we don’t have access, were raided,” MSF said on its official Twitter account, adding: “We once again demand respect for the protection of humanitarian organizations and their buildings.”
