Even the health structures in great difficulty, especially in Darfur, reports Doctors Without Borders. The UN special envoy: «Neither side has shown a willingness to seriously negotiate
The situation in Sudan is increasingly critical, where an armed conflict has been underway since Saturday 15 April between the regular army, led by the president of the military junta in government, General Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary group of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), headed by Vice President Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, also known as Hemedti. The hostilities between the two began with a very tough political clash after Burhan’s government, in December 2022, agreed to return power to a civilian administration. The agreement, among other things, also provided for the integration of the RSF into the regular army.
The clashes, which began in the Sudanese capital Khartoum, then spread to other areas of the country, causing about 500 deaths and thousands of injuries. Only between Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 April were the evacuations of foreign citizens permitted by ship from Port Sudan and by air from the small airport of Wadi Sednia, which can only be reached by bypassing the center of the capital, which was under fire in those days. Hundreds of civilians have fled Sudan, including around a hundred Italians, who returned to Rome last Monday. A few doctors, nurses and Emergency e personnel remained in the country several missionaries: in particular the Salesians, who are involved in formation in Sudan, and the Comboni Missionaries (except for an elderly Spanish priest), who have a very long tradition of presence in the country dating back to their founder Daniele Comboni.
Since the beginning of the conflict, even the health facilities have found themselves in great difficulty and many wounded have not even managed to reach them. The situation in hospitals is particularly dramatic in Darfur, where many deaths and hundreds of injuries were recorded immediately. Here is one of the structures managed by Doctors Without Borders (MSF), where beds are scarce, especially for women and children. And the medical supplies available may only be enough for a few weeks.
“Since the beginning of the fighting – says the coordinator of the MSF project in El Fasher, Cyrus Paye – there is no electricity in the city and even the fuel supplies for the hospital generator are running out. L’crew surgical has sent us the list of urgently needed materials, and we are looking for a safe corridor to deliver them with our two ambulances. Without these essential supplies, more people will die.” Hence MSF’s appeal for the safety of medical staff and patients, as well as for the protection of all health facilities, which should not be targets of the conflict. MSF is also calling for access to other hospitals to address equipment shortages and continue saving lives.
However, the situation remains very uncertain and unstable. It was only after lengthy negotiations that one was reached temporary truce, which allowed civilians to leave their homes and get food and water after many days, even if the clashes never completely stopped in Khartoum.
According to theUN special envoy, Volker Perthes, the cease-fire «partially holds. However, neither side has shown willingness to seriously negotiate, and this suggests that both think it is possible to achieve a military victory over the other. This is a miscalculation.”