WHO Raises Alarm Over Detention of Health Workers, Thousands of Civilians in Sudan

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday voiced alarm over reports that more than 70 health workers and around 5,000 civilians are being detained in Nyala, in southwestern Sudan.

Sudan has been engulfed in a brutal conflict since April 2023, when fighting erupted between the country’s regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The war has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced around 12 million and severely damaged critical infrastructure.

“We are concerned by reports from Nyala, the capital of Sudan’s South Darfur state, that more than 70 health care workers are being forcibly detained along with about 5,000 civilians,” WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X.

Citing the Sudan Doctors Network, Tedros said the detainees are being held in cramped and unhealthy conditions, with reports of disease outbreaks. Earlier this year, the RSF allied with a faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement–North, forming a coalition based in Nyala.

“WHO is gathering more information on the detentions and conditions of those being held. The situation is complicated by the ongoing insecurity,” Tedros said. He added that the reported detentions were “deeply concerning,” stressing that health workers and civilians must be protected at all times and calling for their “safe and unconditional release.”

The WHO monitors and verifies attacks on health care but does not assign blame, as it is not an investigative body. This year alone, the agency has recorded 65 attacks on health care in Sudan, resulting in 1,620 deaths and 276 injuries. Of these incidents, 54 affected health personnel, 46 affected facilities and 33 affected patients.

Earlier on Tuesday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said he was “alarmed by the further intensification in hostilities” in the Kordofan region of southern Sudan. He urged all parties to the conflict, as well as states with influence, to push for an immediate ceasefire and to prevent atrocities.

“Medical facilities and personnel have specific protection against attack under international humanitarian law,” Turk said.