Doctors, Patients Stranded In Hospitals As Fighting In Sudan Rages On

Doctors and patients in Khartoum’s hospitals are stranded and have been thrown into chaos by the explosion of violence between Sudan’s two top generals.

Since Saturday, residents have been unable to leave their homes as the two sides engaged in gun battles and bombarded each other with artillery and airstrikes.

According to the Sudanese Doctors' Syndicate, dozens of hospitals in Khartoum and across Sudan have closed due to fighting and dwindling medical and fuel supplies.

The United Nations Population Fund also disclosed that the fighting threatens millions of people, including 24,000 women who are due to give birth in the coming weeks.

The unexpected outbreak of violence caught everyone off guard, trapping doctors and nurses inside hospitals and preventing other personnel from reaching them.

“I’m doing dialysis at the kidney centre, but for nine days I didn’t do it because the centre was closed. 

"I need 90 million Sudanese pounds (40 USD) for transportation to come here. People have no money, patients who used to come with us for dialysis haven't come since last Saturday, also the chronic disease patients can't bear it. 

"They're supposed to open the streets for people, there is no transportation or taxis that can take you to Bahari,” said Batool Shareef, a dialysis patient.

Since the fighting began, the Ahmad Qassem dialysis centre has been the only one still operating with 17 dialysis machines.

Patients who have been unable to reach the centre and continue their dialysis treatments are endangering their lives, according to Dr Othman Taj el-Dein, director of the kidney department.

"If the dialysis was not done two or three times, the patient has an 80% chance of dying because water gets inside the lungs," Taj el-Dein said.

Before the recent outbreak of fighting, humanitarian needs in Sudan were already at record levels, affecting 15.8 million people, or roughly one-third of the population, according to the United Nations.