Indirect talks in Geneva, WHO condemns targeting of Sudanese hospitals

Sudan – The United Nations announced the continuation of indirect talks in Geneva, Switzerland, between the delegations of the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, while the World Health Organization condemned the increase in attacks on medical facilities in Sudan in recent weeks.

UN spokeswoman Alessandra Vellucci said, “The delegations of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces are engaged in the Geneva talks under the leadership of the Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra.”

She explained that “Lammar and his team made several contacts with each of them early this week,” without further details.

On Friday, UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said, “The Secretary-General’s Personal Envoy for Sudan, Ramtane Lamamra, continues the discussions he is holding separately with the delegations of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces in Geneva.”

Dujarric added at the time that “discussions will continue over the weekend in different formats and in different places.”

In its first comment on the talks, the Sudanese government said it had agreed to an invitation from Lamamra to participate in indirect discussions in Geneva “regarding the humanitarian situation.”

For its part, the Rapid Support Forces announced on Friday its welcome of the United Nations’ call to begin talks with the Sudanese army on facilitating the delivery of humanitarian aid.

In turn, the World Health Organization condemned on Wednesday the increasing attacks on medical facilities in Sudan in recent weeks.

The organization’s regional director for the Eastern Mediterranean countries, Hanan Balkhy, said in a video press conference from Cairo that since the war between the army and the Rapid Support Forces began in April 2023, “the organization has verified 82 attacks on health care facilities” in Sudan.

“The last six weeks alone have witnessed 17 attacks on these facilities,” she added.

In turn, the organization’s representative in Sudan, Shabl Sahbani, called for immediate permission for relief supplies to reach the city of El Fasher in western Sudan, to avoid a catastrophic health situation.

Sahbani warned that “hunger and fear of famine are haunting Sudan, where 800,000 people are still stuck in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State, without sufficient food, water or medical support,” according to the United Nations website.

“The heavy fighting between the warring parties has made access to El Fasher completely impossible,” Sahbani said.

Sahbani added that “the states of Darfur (west), Kordofan (south), Khartoum and Al-Jazeera (central) have all become isolated from humanitarian and health aid due to the ongoing fighting.”

Since May 10, Al-Fasher has witnessed clashes between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, despite international warnings of battles in the city, which is the center of humanitarian operations for all Darfur states (west).

Since mid-April 2023, the Sudanese army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemeti), have been waging a war that has left regarding 15,000 dead and regarding 10 million displaced and refugees, according to the United Nations.

There have been increasing calls from the United Nations and international organizations to spare Sudan a humanitarian disaster that might push millions to famine and death due to food shortages caused by the fighting that has spread to 12 of the country’s 18 states.

Source: Al Jazeera + Agencies