For the second time, the Sudanese army bombed last Tuesday a hospital in South Kordofan state run by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), forcing the medical group to suspend its medical activities.
MSF in a statement released on Friday accused the Sudanese air force of targeting for the second time since June 2014 a hospital located in the rebel-held village of Frandala in South Korodfan.
The international medical group further announced the suspension of its activities in the troubled area saying “Repeated and targeted bombings in the region prevent the safe operation of medical activities, depriving the local population of lifesaving care”.
According to MSF, a fighter jet of the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) “dropped a cluster of 13 bombs, two of which landed inside the hospital compound. The others struck just outside the hospital fence”.
There were around 150 patients and staff members in the hospital when the bombing occurred. However only a patient and a staffer were wounded but the hospital suffered damage.
“Today there can be no doubt that this was a deliberate and targeted bombing on a civilian hospital structure and part of a strategy to terrorise the community,” said MSF head of mission Marc Van der Mullen.
One patient died and several were wounded during the first bombing on Frandala hospital last June. MSF says the Sudanese government is informed about the location of the facility and activities.
UN CONDEMNS
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) issued a statement expressing “deep concern” about reports of the bombing of MSF hospital in South Kordofan state.
OCHA said that the targeting of medical facilities is a “serious violation of customary international humanitarian law”.
The UN continues to call on all parties in the conflict in Sudan to respect their obligations under international humanitarian law, in particular in relation to the protection of civilians and to ensure safe, timely and unhindered access to humanitarian organisations, the statement emphasised .
Frandala hospital was open in 2012, one year after the start of the underreported conflict in South Kordofan. Almost 80,000 consultations have been performed, and along with close to 4,000 hospital admissions, according to the group.
Source: Sudan Tribune