Sudan fighting renders hospitals out of service: Medics

KHARTOUM, Sudan

Most hospitals near areas of clashes between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been put out of service, according to local medics on Wednesday.

“Around 72 percent of hospitals close to areas of clashes have stopped operation,” the Sudan Doctors Syndicate said in a statement.

It said 59 out of 82 hospitals in the capital Khartoum and other states have been rendered out of service.

“Fourteen hospitals were bombed while 19 others were forcibly evacuated,” it added.

The syndicate noted that six ambulances were attacked by military forces, while others were prevented from transporting patients or delivering aid.

At least 460 people have been killed and over 4,000 others injured in clashes between the Sudanese army and RSF forces since April 15, according to the Health Ministry.

A disagreement had been fomenting in recent months between the army and the paramilitaries over military security reform. The reform envisages full RSF participation in the military, one of the main issues in negotiations by international and regional parties for a transition to civilian, democratic rule in Sudan.

Sudan has been without a functioning government since October 2021, when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok’s transitional government and declared a state of emergency in a move decried by political forces as a “coup.”

Sudan’s transitional period, which started in August 2019, was scheduled to end with elections in early 2024.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi.