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KHARTOUM. – With doctors already under attack, pregnant women and children, faced with intimidation and murder, are now finding themselves at the sharp end of the stick in Sudan’s deadly conflict.
And there appears to be no end in sight to the almost month-long war between military factions in power.
The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) loyal to President Abdel Fattah al-Burhan launched a campaign calling health workers traitors for helping suspected Rapid Support Forces (RSF) fighters loyal to Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo.
On the other hand, RSF fighters have set up army bases at some hospitals as the SAF have shown a reluctance to attack public infrastructure facilities where civilians could be hiding or seeking treatment.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) has so far verified 25 attacks on health facilities that have killed at least eight people and injured 18 others since the start of the conflict. However, that has not stopped doctors from working.
In a statement, the Sudanese Doctors Trade Union (SDTU) said it would “remain committed to the values and traditions of the medical profession, and the protocols to be followed in situations of armed conflict, to continue to provide health and treatment services amidst a semi-complete collapse of the health sector, which has become a battlefield”.
Doctors have, however, come under direct attack on social media and in direct phone calls with threats of physical harm while carrying out their duties.
SDTU vowed to “stand shoulder to shoulder” with fellow healthcare workers under attack and asked both warring parties to create a passage for doctors to carry out their duties.
“We demand the immediate distinction of doctors with badges that facilitate a safe passage to their work sites, and the commitment of the armed forces and RSF to not assault them or the health facilities they work in,” the doctors said.
In an interview with News24, Sara Ibrahim Abdelgalil a former president of the Sudan Doctors’ Union in the UK, said it must be made clear that doctors were not taking sides in any conflict.
She said: “Doctors won’t take sides in any armed conflict; they are working hard to save lives.”
She also condemned the arbitrary killing of civilians.
“It is well known that this armed conflict resulted in hospital invasions, bombings, blocking ambulances, and the killing of doctors and civilians, including patients,” she said, adding that women and children have been some of the worst affected by the conflict.
“Pregnant women were shot in front of health facilities and killed while in labour, those alive are seeking safe shelters and trying to stay alive, or they fled Khartoum or the western conflict zone,” she said. – News24.com
Online Reporter
Peter Tanyanyiwa