Despite the risks of traveling on Khartoum’s streets, sick people are still being taken to hospitals. Image: EPA
According to a Sudanese doctor, he and his colleagues are constantly bracing themselves for the possibility of getting shot while working at a hospital in Khartoum.
The doctor stated that the risk of violence is always looming and that they are never sure when it will happen.
The unnamed doctor had been offering his services as a volunteer to treat individuals who had been wounded, many of whom had been shot.
He expressed feeling a sense of helplessness and difficulty witnessing individuals succumb to their injuries right in front of him.
Moreover, the hospital’s staff and patients have also been unintentionally injured by stray bullets.
Due to safety concerns, the doctor has decided not to continue serving at that particular hospital. Instead, he intends to treat patients at another medical facility.
The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors (CCSD) has revealed that 39 out of 59 hospitals in Khartoum and nearby areas are currently out of service, indicating the worsening humanitarian situation in Sudan.
Among these hospitals, nine were bombed and sixteen others were forced to evacuate.
The conflict between the Sudanese army and the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) group has now been ongoing for five days, resulting in a power struggle in the country.
According to the doctor, at least 16 hospitals were subject to forced evacuations by the RSF, leaving patients and doctors stranded.
It is difficult to evacuate them due to a lack of transportation, safe passages, and gasoline, leaving some patients without clean water or food.
The doctor further reported that several corpses had been left in hospitals that cannot be accessed.
While our reporter is unable to independently verify the doctor’s report, it highlights the dire conditions currently faced by those in need of medical attention in Sudan.
Dr Ahmed Abbas, who serves as a coordinator for the Sudan Doctors’ Union, said that the situation in Sudan is dire, with only a few hospitals in Khartoum currently functioning.
The hospitals that are still operational are facing significant challenges, such as shortages of oxygen and life-saving drugs.
Meanwhile, doctors have been working tirelessly around the clock, leading to exhaustion and reaching the point of collapse.
Dr Abbas’s remarks underscore the overwhelming challenges facing medical professionals in Sudan as they attempt to provide care amidst ongoing conflict and political instability.
On Wednesday, there were more blasts in Khartoum. Image: GETTY IMAGES
Dr Abbas has further warned that patients in Sudan are dying due to a lack of staff and blood supplies, and long waiting times to reach operating rooms.
He described the health service in Sudan as “beyond collapse“.
The unnamed Khartoum doctor also confirmed that some hospitals had been used by factions as a refuge for their fighters, and that five major hospitals had been almost completely destroyed by crossfire fighting.
On Wednesday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) called for unimpeded access in Sudan and warned that the fighting was taking a disastrous toll.
The ICRC’s regional director for Africa, Patrick Youssef, emphasized the need for quick access and safety for ambulances, medical personnel, and humanitarian actors to be able to evaluate the situation.
Western diplomats based in Khartoum have reported that about 270 civilians have been killed since the fighting broke out on Saturday, and large numbers of residents in Khartoum have been fleeing or trapped in their homes seeking shelter as explosions continue to erupt in the city.
Although the Sudanese army and the RSF agreed to a fresh 24-hour truce later in the day, gunfire could still be heard after it was supposed to take effect, suggesting that the situation in Sudan remains volatile and unpredictable.