Qatar sends medical aid to conflict-torn Sudan

KHARTOUM, Sudan

Qatar on Saturday dispatched medical aid to Sudan as part of relief efforts amid the ongoing clashes between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary force.

Thirty tons of medical supplies were allocated for six Sudanese states by the Qatar Red Crescent Society, Sudan’s Health Ministry said in a statement.

"The medical supplies were carefully selected in order to meet the needs of emergencies and chronic diseases,” said Salah Daak, director of the Qatar Red Crescent office in Sudan.

On Wednesday, the United Nations said that about 25 million people are in need of humanitarian assistance in Sudan, warning that the situation in the country is rapidly turning into a regional crisis.

The UN has appealed for $2.56 billion to provide aid to refugees who have fled their homes over the ongoing conflict in Sudan.

According to UN data, 220,000 Sudanese have become refugees in Egypt, Chad and South Sudan as a result of the current fighting. The number of refugees fleeing Sudan is expected to reach one million this year.

At least 850 civilians have been killed and over 3,300 others injured in the fighting between the army and the RSF since April 15, according to local medics.

After their first face-to-face talks in Saudi Arabia, the Sudanese army and the RSF signed on May 11 a declaration of commitment to protect civilians in Sudan. Despite the agreement, clashes continued between the two military rivals, particularly in the capital Khartoum.

A disagreement had been fomenting in recent months between the army and the RSF over the paramilitary group’s integration into the armed forces, a key condition of Sudan's transition agreement with political groups.

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 after the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir, had been scheduled to end with elections in early 2024.

*Writing by Ikram Kouachi