Implemented since early September, and communicated to MSF by the Sudanese authorities on 2 October, the ban is being enforced with the intention of preventing wounded soldiers from being able to receive life-saving treatment in the capital.
Such a ban not only contravenes the international laws of war – which the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) reconfirmed their commitment to in the Jeddah declaration in May – but also, by its very nature, will have deadly consequences on the lives of civilians who will also be deprived of treatment.
“The ban is a ruthless tactic that will likely cause the preventable deaths of hundreds of people in Khartoum over the coming weeks,” says Claire Nicolet, MSF’s head of emergencies for Sudan. “Two thirds of the surgeries we carry out in the Turkish Hospital are caesarean sections. In the past two months alone, we have performed 170 of such surgeries – without this procedure, many of the women and their newborn babies would have died. Women in labour needing C-sections already have very few options available to them in Khartoum. If we continue to be denied permission to bring surgical supplies to our hospital, soon they will have no options at all.”
When it comes to the war wounded, MSF treats people based on their medical needs. It is against medical ethics to refuse life-saving treatment to someone – no matter whether they have been fighting or whether they have been caught in the crossfire.
Source : MSF
