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The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday expressed concern over reports that more than 70 health workers and around 5,000 civilians are being forcibly detained in Nyala, in southwest Sudan, amid ongoing fighting that has driven the country into a severe humanitarian crisis.
The ongoing war in Sudan since April 15, 2023, between the army led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) led by his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, has killed tens of thousands.
The war has forced around 12 million people to flee their homes, either displaced inside the country or seeking refuge abroad, and has devastated infrastructure, leaving Sudan facing the world’s “worst humanitarian crisis,” according to the United Nations.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on X, “We are concerned by reports from Nyala, the capital of Sudan’s South Darfur state, indicating that more than 70 health care workers, along with around 5,000 civilians, are being detained.”
“According to the Sudan Doctors Network, those detained are being held in unsanitary conditions, and there are reports of disease outbreaks,” he added.
The RSF earlier this year allied with a faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North and formed a coalition based in Nyala.
“The World Health Organization is gathering additional information on the detentions and the conditions of those held. Ongoing insecurity is further complicating the situation,” Tedros said.
“Reports of the detention of health workers and thousands of other people are deeply concerning. Health workers and civilians must be protected at all times, and we call for their safe and unconditional release,” he continued.
Earlier Tuesday, U.N. 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.
The WHO counts and verifies attacks on health care, though it does not attribute blame, as it is not an investigative agency.
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 affected facilities and 33 targeted patients.
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