Fighters belonging to an armed group attacked the medical staff members of a hospital in West Darfur, said a local medical group on Wednesday and called to arrest the perpetrators.
“A group affiliated with one of the armed movements beat up medical personnel in Morni Rural Hospital in Krenk locality,” reads a statement issued by West Darfur Doctors Committee.
The statement further described the attack as “brutal” and that some of the victims were women and men over sixty years of age.
The attack was the third of its kind in the West Darfur hospitals this week, two physical attacks on physicians occurred at El Geneina Teaching Hospital.
Darfur doctors say the armed groups that returned to the country from Libya after the peace agreement increased verbal or physical abuses in hospitals.
The statement did not name their group.
48-hours warning
The West Darfur doctors called on the state authorities to arrest the culprits and to hold them accountable saying the security authorities bear the responsibility for this violence.
“We hold the government, its security committee, and its military apparatus fully responsible for what is happening and what the situation will lead to if this phenomenon continues without stopping it”.
The medical group warned they would give the authorities 48 hours to arrest the perpetrators otherwise they would stage an “unprecedented wave of escalation” to preserve their safety.
The committee said that lack of accountability encourages the repetition of crimes by the former rebel fighters, as perpetrators feel free to commit further offences without fear.
The statement pointed that alleged negligence while delivering services cannot justify the brutal attacks and offences on medical personnel.
“The medical staff members who are working under very bad conditions cannot bear the consequences of the collapse of the health system,” stressed.
Source: Sudan Tribune