Global Courant 2023-04-17 17:43:07
PARIS and LONDON — Dozens of civilians have been killed and hundreds injured in Sudan as forces loyal to two rival generals battle for day three for control of the resource-rich North African country.
Since heavy fighting broke out in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum on Saturday, at least 97 civilians have been killed in the crossfire and 365 others injured, according to a statement released Monday morning by the Sudan Doctors’ Syndicate, a pro-democracy group that oversees stop victims. The group noted that there were “a number of injuries and deaths that have not been counted” as some “hospitals were inaccessible due to the difficult mobility and security situation in the country”.
As violence has spread from Khartoum to other parts of Sudan, “the heaviest concentration of fighting” is taking place in the populous capital, according to the World Health Organization, the United Nations’ global health department.
Smoke rises over residential buildings in Khartoum, Sudan, on April 16, 2023.
AFP via Getty Images
The WHO said in a statement on Sunday that it is “monitoring health needs and resources in Khartoum and other affected cities to ensure limited supplies are directed to where they are most needed”. However, traffic in the capital “is restricted due to insecurity, making it challenging for doctors, nurses, patients and ambulances to reach health facilities, and endangering the lives of those in need of urgent medical care,” the WHO said. .
“The supplies that WHO distributed to health facilities by WHO prior to this recent escalation of the conflict are now depleted, and many of the nine hospitals in Khartoum receiving wounded civilians are reporting shortages of blood, transfusion equipment, intravenous fluids, medical supplies and other life-saving supplies. commodities,” the agency added. “There are also reports of shortages of specialist medical staff, including anaesthesiologists. Water and power cuts affect the functionality of health facilities, and fuel shortages for hospital generators are also reported.”
The clashes are the culmination of weeks of tensions between General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, the commander of the Sudanese armed forces, and General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the head of the Rapid Support Forces, a Sudanese paramilitary group. So far neither has shown any indication to pull out. The two men were once allies who jointly orchestrated a military coup in 2021 that dissolved Sudan’s power-sharing government and derailed the short-lived transition to democracy following the ousting of a longtime dictator in 2019.
Satellite image shows fires over Khartoum, Sudan, on April 16, 2023.
Maxar Technologies via Reuters
When the Foreign Ministers of the Group of Seven Nations met in Japan on Monday, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken told reporters that they “have had very close consultations about the situation in Sudan.”
“We have also been in close contact with partners in the Arab world, in Africa, in international organizations,” said Blinken. “There is a shared deep concern about the fighting, the violence going on in Sudan, the threat it poses to civilians, that it poses to the Sudanese nation and possibly even to the region.”
“There is also a very strong shared view on the need for Generals Burhan and Hemeti to ensure the protection of civilians and non-combatants, as well as people from third countries, including our personnel who are in Sudan,” he added, “and also a strongly held view – again, with all our partners – of the need for an immediate ceasefire and a resumption of talks – talks that held promise to put Sudan on the path to a full transition to a citizen-led government.”
The United States has been in “close contact” with its embassy in Khartoum “to ensure that our personnel are safe and accountable, which is the case”, and also “with all US citizens in the Sudan to ensure that those who registered with the embassy and with whom we actually have contact, they get all the information they can get on how to stay safe,” said Blinken.
Satellite image shows burning IL-76 candid aircraft at Khartoum International Airport in Khartoum, Sudan, on April 16, 2023.
Maxar Technologies via Reuters
Lakshmi Parthasarathy, 32, is one of the US citizens currently in Khartoum. When fighting broke out early Saturday, Parthasarathy said the sound woke her up and she initially thought it was a thunderstorm. But then she looked out her window.
“There was massive amounts of smoke and it was very clear that it was gunfire,” Parthasarathy told ABC News in a remote interview Sunday. “We went up on the roof and people were running and we saw jets, and it looked like there was all-out war going on like there.”
“It’s been non-stop since yesterday morning,” she added. “It doesn’t sound like it’s de-escalating. It’s definitely a scary experience.”
Parthasarathy, a Boston-based software engineer and travel blogger, said she is staying in an Airbnb rental less than a mile from the central part of the Sudanese capital, near the presidential palace and closed international airport, where some of the fiercest fighting has been fought. have occurred. occurred. She described the scene as “very chaotic”, but noted that there are also “rest areas” in Khartoum.
It is Parthasarathy’s first time in Sudan and she has been traveling the vast country for the past few weeks, but only arrived in the capital a few days ago. She said her family is concerned about her, but she has made several Sudanese friends who help her feel safe and has also reported to the US embassy in Khartoum in case the situation worsens. She saw many people fleeing the city, but said most stayed indoors, especially at night.
“It’s unclear to anyone what’s going on and where this is going,” Parthasarathy told ABC News. “I really didn’t expect this. This isn’t part of the plan. I’m nervous about what’s going to happen next.”
