Fifteen months of war in Sudan, bringing with them blind violence and repeated attacks on health personnel, have had a “disastrous” impact on civilians, warned the NGO Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) in a new report published on Monday, July 22.
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THE Sudan has been embroiled since April 2023 in a war opposing the army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane, to the paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of General Mohammed Hamdane Daglo. The price paid by civilians in this war is such that what appears to be a conflict between belligerents is in reality a war against the Sudanese people. »indicates the report of Doctors Without Borders published this July 22.
The conflict has left tens of thousands dead and sparked a major humanitarian crisis. ” The population has faced appalling levels of violence, succumbing to widespread fighting and surviving repeated attacks, abuses ” committed by both sides, denounces the report entitled ” A War on the People: The Human Cost of Conflict and Violence in Sudan “.
Millions displaced across the country
The war, which has forced more than 11 million people to flee within the country and across borders, according to the UN, has ravaged infrastructure and pushed the country to the brink of famine. The consequences of the war ” on the health and well-being of the people of Sudan are disastrous »says the MSF report, which mentions ” omnipresence » sexual violence.
Both sides have been accused of war crimes for deliberately targeting civilians and blocking humanitarian aid. While many organizations have ceased operations in the country, MSF continues to operate in eight states across Sudan. The NGO said it has treated thousands of conflict-related injuries, most of them “ caused by explosions and gunshots and stabbings ».
The numbers speak for themselves
In the MSF-supported Al-Nao University Hospital in the northwestern suburbs of Khartoum alone, 6,776 patients were treated for injuries caused by violence between August 15, 2023 and April 30, 2024, an average of 26 people per day »warns the NGO.
” No place is safe for communities trapped in Sudan’s conflict zones »said Vickie Hawkins, general director of MSF Netherlands, during a press conference. Patients tell horrific stories of inhumane treatment and violence by armed groups »she added. They report “ looting, arson, degrading interrogations, arbitrary arrests, kidnappings and torture on a systematic level »she said again, calling “ the parties in conflict to cease all targeted forms of violence and abuse ».
Louise Roland-Gosselin Muamba, MSF’s humanitarian affairs coordinator in Nairobi, looks back at the violence that particularly affects women in Sudan:
“These patients we see are only a tiny proportion of the survivors of sexual violence that are rampant in Sudan”
Louise Roland-Gosselin Muamba of MSF looks back at the new MSF report on violence in Sudan, particularly against women