CAIRO: Hospitals and other health care facilities in war-torn Sudan are facing increased attacks, a World Health Organization (WHO) official said on Wednesday as fighting between the army and paramilitaries rages on.
Since the start of the war in April 2023, the WHO has recorded 82 attacks on health care facilities, “including 17 in the last six weeks alone,” said Hanan Balkhy, the WHO’s Eastern Mediterranean regional director.
Meanwhile, the country is suffering from the “spread of diseases such as cholera, malaria and meningitis,” she warned during a video conference.
The conflict between the regular army under Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, led by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, has left tens of thousands dead and displaced more than ten million people, according to the United Nations.
With the war showing no signs of abating, the delivery of humanitarian aid faces “administrative, security and logistical obstacles,” said Shible Sahbani, the WHO’s representative in Sudan.
Despite the challenges, “the WHO distributed 510 tons of medicines and aid materials between January and July,” he added, saying that two trucks entered North Darfur last week from Chad and seven trucks are en route to Darfur from Port Sudan.
Sahbani said hunger is the main factor driving Sudanese to flee the country, referring to testimonies from asylum-seekers in neighboring Chad.
A recent UN-backed report said nearly 26 million people, or slightly more than half of the population, were facing high levels of “acute food insecurity.”
Humanitarian agencies say that the difficulty of obtaining data on the ground has prevented famine from being officially declared in Sudan.
Both the army and the RSF have been accused of obstructing humanitarian aid and nearly destroying Sudan’s already fragile health care system.
WHO warns of rising attacks on Sudan hospitals
https://arab.news/9bdtw
WHO warns of rising attacks on Sudan hospitals
- Recent UN-backed report said nearly 26 million people, or slightly more than half of the population, were facing high levels of “acute food insecurity”
- Both the army and the RSF have been accused of obstructing humanitarian aid and nearly destroying Sudan’s already fragile health care system
Syrian authorities find remains of five victims of Assad regime
- The remains of the individuals were scattered on open ground near a house in the village of Al-Qashla, near Manbij
LONDON: Syrian authorities completed the recovery of the remains of at least five individuals in eastern Aleppo province, believed to have died due to the brutal practices of the deposed Bashar Assad regime.
The Syrian Civil Defense found the remains of individuals scattered on open ground near a house in the village of Al-Qashla, near Manbij, according to the Syrian Arab News Agency.
They have been surveying and investigating the area since Monday, when the first report of human remains came through, in coordination with the National Authority for the Missing.
Authorities have found multiple mass graves in Syria since the fall of the Assad regime in December 2024.
Last week, authorities reported that the remains of 14 individuals were found in the Adra industrial area, northeast of Damascus, during excavation for mill foundations in the area.
According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, nearly 177,000 people have been forcibly disappeared in Syria since March 2011.
