The only functioning hospital in Fasher, the capital of Sudan’s North Darfur state, is overwhelmed with patients injured during heavy fighting between rival military factions, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) says.
The medical charity’s Cyrus Paye said his team in Fasher had repurposed a maternity hospital to receive the wounded as all other hospitals in the city had had to close because of their proximity to the fighting, or the inability of staff to reach them.
The maternity South Hospital has received 279 wounded patients since the clashes began on Saturday.Tragically, 44 have died. The situation is catastrophic. The majority of the wounded are civilians who were hit by stray bullets, and many of them are children.
“Many need blood transfusions. There are so many patients that are being treated on the floor in the corridors because there simply aren’t enough beds to accommodate the vast number of wounded,” from MSF’s Cyrus Paye.
The hospital was rapidly running out of supplies – as airports were closed as was with the border with Chad, which neighbours Darfur, the MSF project coordinator explained.
“If the situation doesn’t change and humanitarian access is not granted, there will be even greater loss of life.”
An employee of the UN’s International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has been killed in crossfire south of the city of El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state.
IOM Director General, António Vitorino, said in a statement “it is with a heavy heart that I confirm the death of a dedicated IOM Sudan staff member this morning after the vehicle he was travelling in with his family south of El Obeid was caught in crossfire between two warring parties”. -BBC
