WHO concerns over attacks on hospitals in Sudan

ISTANBUL

World Health Organization (WHO) expressed on Wednesday its concerns over attacks targeting hospitals in Sudan, calling for the protection of healthcare facilities.

"WHO is concerned about continued attacks on and in the vicinity of hospitals in Sudan, where access to health care is already so limited," WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X.

He noted that seven people were killed and 37 others injured in an attack near Al-Naw Hospital yesterday.

Emphasizing the immense suffering of the Sudanese people, Ghebreyesus urged an immediate ceasefire and the protection of healthcare facilities.

"Peace is the best medicine," he added.

Sudan's Health Ministry reported that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) carried out an artillery attack on Al-Naw Hospital in the Omdurman area, west of the capital Khartoum, killing six people.

War in Sudan

Since April 15, 2023, clashes have been ongoing between the Sudanese army and the RSF, a paramilitary force that was once affiliated with it, due to disputes over military reform and integration.

All initiatives aimed at ending the war have so far failed.

According to the UN, Sudan is experiencing one of the world’s worst displacement and hunger crises, with over 20,000 people killed in the conflict.

Since the war began in April 2023, more than three million people have fled the country, while nearly nine million have been internally displaced. More than 25 million people are in need of humanitarian aid.