Khartoum doctors strike after attack on medical director

December 5, 2023 (KHARTOUM) – Doctors at Bashaier Hospital, located south of Khartoum, went on an open strike on Tuesday to protest the attack on the medical director by a member of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The strike is the latest sign of the deteriorating security situation in the Sudanese capital, where fighting between the army and the RSF has been ongoing since mid-April. As a result of the fighting, most of the hospitals in Khartoum have been closed, either because they were caught in the crossfire or because they were occupied by the RSF.

The closure of the hospitals has caused a great deal of suffering for the people of Khartoum, who are now largely without access to medical care.

The spokesman for the South Belt Emergency Room, Mohamed Kindsha, told Sudan Tribune that the strike was in response to the shooting of the medical director of the hospital and a member of the emergency room by an RSF member. Kindsha also said that the RSF member had threatened the rest of the medical team at the hospital.

Kindsha denounced the shooting as “barbaric” and said that the medical staff at Bashaier Hospital are standing in solidarity with their colleagues. He also called on the RSF to control its members and respect international conventions and treaties.

Bashaier Hospital is the only medical facility operating in southern Khartoum. It is run by Doctors Without Borders and the South Belt Emergency Room, a volunteer youth group that was formed after the war began. The hospital provides treatment services to the residents of the Mayo, Al-Azhari, Al-Salama, Waad Hussein, and other neighbourhoods.

(ST)