Black smoke billows over Khartoum International Airport/AFP via Getty Images
2023.08.10 Thu posted at 15:35 JST
(CNN) Sudan’s capital Khartoum has reached capacity at its morgue after nearly four months of violent clashes. Aid workers said. Thousands of bodies are left to decompose in the streets, prompting doctors and charities to fear a cholera epidemic.
Khartoum’s morgue has reached a “breaking point,” the international NGO Save the Children said on Thursday.
According to the group, the corpses in the morgue are also decomposing due to the prolonged power outage, which has not been able to cool them down. There were no medical staff left, and the bodies were left “as they were, without any treatment,” he said.
In mid-April, armed clashes broke out in Sudan between the military and the paramilitary Readiness Support Force (RSF). Both sides are trying to control Khartoum.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported last month, citing Ministry of Health data, that at least 1,105 people had been killed and 12,115 injured in these violence as of July 11. climb. The actual figure, however, is likely to be significantly higher, OCHA said.
At least 435 children have died so far, according to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). At least 2,025 children were injured. On average, one child is killed or injured every hour.
In a statement, Save the Children said a combination of rising bodies, severe water shortages and dysfunctional public health services could lead to a cholera epidemic in Khartoum.
Cholera is often prevalent in war zones. Infection spreads rapidly through cholera-contaminated water.
Sudan sees a spike in cholera cases during the rainy season, which usually begins in June.
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2023-08-10 06:35:00
