WHO alarmed by health workers, civilians 'forcibly detained' in RSF-controlled Nyala in Sudan

The World Health Organization voiced alarm at reports that more than 70 health workers and around 5,000 civilians were being detained in Nyala in southwestern Sudan.

"We are concerned by reports from Nyala, the capital of Sudan's South Darfur state, that more than 70 healthcare workers are being forcibly detained along with about 5,000 civilians," WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X on Tuesday.

"According to the Sudan Doctors Network, the detainees are being held in cramped and unhealthy conditions, and there are reports of disease outbreaks," the UN health agency chief said.

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North faction allied earlier this year, forming a coalition based in Nyala.

"WHO is gathering more information on the detentions and conditions of those being held. The situation is complicated by the ongoing insecurity," said Tedros.

"The reported detentions of health workers and thousands more people are deeply concerning. Health workers and civilians should be protected at all times, and we call for their safe and unconditional release."

The WHO counts and verifies attacks on health care, though it does not attribute blame, as it is not an investigative agency.

Deadly attacks on health care workers

In total, the WHO has recorded 65 attacks on health care in Sudan this year, resulting in 1,620 deaths and 276 injuries. Of those attacks, 54 impacted personnel, 46 impacted facilities and 33 impacted patients.

Earlier on Tuesday, UN rights chief Volker Turk said he was "alarmed by the further intensification in hostilities" in the Kordofan region in southern Sudan.

"I urge all parties to the conflict and states with influence to ensure an immediate ceasefire and to prevent atrocities," he said.

"Medical facilities and personnel have specific protection against attack under international humanitarian law," Turk added.

Since April 2023, Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been locked in a brutal conflict that has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 12 million more and devastated infrastructure.

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Source TRT