The fighting that broke out on 15 April in the capital of Sudan, Khartoum, between the regular army and paramilitary forces, risks escalating into a bloodstained civil war of no short duration. It is estimated that, during the first five days of fighting, more than 330 people have been killed and more than 3200 wounded.
The main reason behind these clashes is related to the tensions between General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, head of the national army, and General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, commander of the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which occurred during the negotiations concerning the transition to democracy, which was interrupted by a coup d'état in 2021.
The current situation in Sudan is dramatic, and mainly civilians suffer from the consequences. Today, the condition of the health system, already severely tested by the 2019 uprising and the coronavirus epidemic, is alarming. The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors (CCSD) stated that around 70 % of the hospitals in the Sudanese capital are unusable. Making the situation even more worrisome are the 50,000 children suffering from acute malnutrition. The essential care they need has been interrupted due to the eruption of the crisis.
The World Food Programme (WFP) has warned that this crisis could cause a major famine. The WFP was supposed to provide humanitarian aid to about 7.6 million people in the country this year, but clashes have led to the suspension of operations. Meanwhile, the UN Secretary General António Guterres has urged both factions to respect a ceasefire of at least three days so that the people of Sudan can be provided with the necessary aid.
To read more, please visit:
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2023/4/20/sudan-health-system-overwhelmed-as-fighting-rages-on
