Khartoum: Darfur24 Janoub-Elhizam Emergency Room announced indefinite closure of Bashayir Hospital due to a soldier from Rapid Support Forces firing shots inside the surgery department.
Janoub-Elhizam Emergency Room has been managing Bashayir Hospital after the departure of Medicines Sans Frontiéres (Doctors Without Borders) earlier this January, due to repeated storming of the hospital by Rapid Support Forces soldiers and their shooting in the presence of medical staff and patients.
Janoub-Elhizam Emergency Room said in a statement today on its Facebook page that “the medical staff and workers at the hospital have gone on an open strike starting today, Thursday, January 23, 2025, following the incident that occurred on Wednesday afternoon, when a member of the Rapid Support Forces opened fire inside the surgery emergency department.”
It indicated that the strike does not include “kidney dialysis, therapeutic nutrition for children and pregnant women departments, noting that patients are received only from the eastern gate.
Janoub-Elhizam Emergency Room condemned the incident, which is one of a series of recurring incidents that threaten the safety of hospital workers and patients, according to the statement.
The statement added that “the continuation of such attacks causes great harm to health facilities and endangers the lives of civilians, especially with the shutdown of vital departments such as the surgical emergency department.”
The statement called on the responsible authorities to take the necessary measures to protect medical personnel and ensure the safety and security of hospitals, so that health services can be provided to citizens.
Earlier, Janoub-Elhizam Emergency Room announced that hundreds of women in the region are at risk of death from complications of childbirth, after MSF left Bashayir Hospital.
It confirmed that there are more than 250 women following up on the pregnancy process at Gynecology and Obstetrics Clinic at Bashayir Hospital, and most of them have been scheduled for caesarean sections, indicating that Bashayir Hospital is the only one that provides free caesarean sections, while private hospitals require an amount of 600 thousand pounds, which is unaffordable for those trapped in the middle of the conflict.