SUDAN: 30 NEWBORN BABIES DIED IN HOSPITALS SINCE START OF CONFLICT, UN SAYS

[Nat Quinn]

Fri 26 May 2023:

Since the start of the violence in Sudan, thirty newborn babies have tragically died in hospitals, according to UN Spokesman Stephane Dujarric on Thursday

Speaking at his daily briefing, Dujarric underscored the humanitarian repercussions of the ongoing fighting in the country, highlighting data from UN agencies.

“Six newborn babies died at a hospital in the city of Ed Daein in just one week recently due to the problems, including lack of oxygen amid electricity blackouts. WHO reports that more than 30 newborns have died at the hospital since the start of the fighting,” he said.

The WHO is in touch with healthcare providers in the region to see what it can do to support, Dujarric added.

 Clashes between the rival factions broke out again on Thursday in Khartoum and neighbouring Omdurman, witnesses said, as well as the strategic city of El Obeid to the southwest.

The UN envoy for the Horn of Africa, Hanna Tetteh, said the continued fighting was “unacceptable and it must stop”.

Washington also warned that Russia’s Wagner mercenary group has been supplying the RSF with surface-to-air missiles to fight Sudan’s army, saying it was “contributing to a prolonged armed conflict that only results in further chaos in the region”.

The war broke out in Khartoum on April 15 after disputes over plans for the RSF to be integrated into the army under an internationally backed deal to shift Sudan towards democracy following decades of conflict-ridden rule by former President Omar al-Bashir, who had appointed himself as leader of the country after staging a coup in 1989.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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