Khartoum, October 13 (Darfur24)
Medical services at Bashayer Hospital in southern Khartoum have been suspended after staff received direct threats from armed members of the Joint Forces, according to a medical source.
The source told Darfur24 that hospital staff stopped work on Friday evening after the incident, briefly resumed operations on Saturday afternoon following the intervention of the Director of Therapeutic Medicine at the Ministry of Health, but halted services completely again on Sunday.
An eyewitness confirmed that the Accident and Emergency Department was closed on Sunday.
The confrontation began on Friday evening when members of the Joint Forces brought an injured colleague to the hospital and entered the facility with weapons drawn.
According to the medical source, one of the armed men was carrying a Kalashnikov rifle and threatened to kill the medical staff if the injured fighter died.
“A joint force arrived after being contacted to try to calm the situation, but they were unsuccessful. Later, an army unit intervened and resolved the matter,” the source said.
Although the patient received treatment and was transferred to the Military Medical Hospital, the hospital staff decided to suspend work and demanded that security forces be deployed to protect the facility.
Bashayer Hospital, which is supported by Doctors Without Borders (MSF), has faced repeated attacks, particularly during the period when the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) controlled Khartoum.