24 July 2023; MEMO: The Sudan Doctors' Union said yesterday that 70 per cent of hospitals are not operational in the areas where fighting is taking place between the army and the Rapid Support Forces. The union pointed out that there are "62 hospitals suspended from service, and 27 hospitals fully or partially working" in the capital Khartoum and other cities.
Those which are operational, said the union, are threatened with closure as a result of the lack of medical personnel, medical supplies, water and electricity.
"A number of attacks have taken place on hospitals and medical staff recently, including the attack on Friday on the staff from the Doctors Without Borders NGO," said the union. "They were beaten while they were delivering medical aid to the Turkish hospital south of Khartoum, their vehicle was looted, and the organisation's driver was arrested."
Nineteen hospitals have been bombed since the beginning of the fighting in April, and 22 have been forcibly evacuated. The union confirmed that all health facilities are still out of service in the city of El Geneina, in West Darfur state.
The army and the RSF accuse each other of starting the fighting in April, and of committing violations during a series of ceasefires. More than 3,000 people have been killed in the fighting, most of them civilians. Around 3 million have been displaced internally or made refugees in one of the poorest countries in the world, according to the Sudanese Ministry of Health and the UN.
