UN demands attacks on hospitals, health workers stop in Sudan

By Betul Yuruk

UNITED NATIONS (AA) - The UN deplored attacks on hospitals and increasing violence against health workers in war-torn Sudan on Friday.

A team from the medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) was assaulted by armed men Thursday while moving medical supplies from the organization’s warehouse to the Turkish Hospital, one of the only two hospitals still operating in southern Khartoum.

"We are appalled by reports," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said. "Attacks on healthcare workers and facilities are a violation of international humanitarian law. They must stop now".

The World Health Organization has verified more than 50 attacks on health care facilities since the conflict erupted in Sudan.

The African nation has been ravaged by clashes again two decades after a conflict broke out.

The fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since April has killed some 3,000 civilians and injured thousands, according to local medics.

Several cease-fire agreements brokered by Saudi and US mediators between the warring rivals have failed to end the violence.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that nearly 3 million people have been displaced by the conflict in Sudan.