Sameera Casmod | sameerac@radioislam.co.za
24 July 2024 | 16:00 SAST
2-minute read

Image: Times Live

A media conference held yesterday by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) revealed data from its facilities that support Sudanese refugees in Chad. The report hints at the widespread use of sexual violence as a weapon in the Sudan war, particularly among women and children.

Vicky Hawkins, General Director for Netherlands Doctors Without Borders, stated that sexual and gender-based violence is pervasive but critically under-reported due to stigma, silence for fear of retaliation, and the void of protection services and confidential spaces to disclose violence.

Emergency Manager Ozan Agbas from MSF said the catalyst for collecting the data was testimony from patients, who often share their experiences with MSF staff.

“In most of the cases, we treat patients with injuries caused by the war directly or indirectly, including those exploitation, torture cases, and sexual violence. Our data relies on our medical capacity and treatment, but also the testimonies of our patients and our staff, because we do witness some of those incidents, some of those events, and our patients were sharing what they’ve gone through,” Agbas said.

However, the report reflects only a fraction of the total picture, Ogbas said, because of the challenges of operating in a war-ravaged country. The MSF has access to only part of the population due to travel restrictions to and within the country.

The two rival factions in Sudan have been using tactics that disregard the safety of civilians, humanitarian agencies, staff and facilities- including medical facilities. A hospital in Omdurman in the Khartoum State that is supported by Doctors Without Borders, for instance, was shelled four times since the beginning of the conflict last April.

“This is a hospital that provides an excessive service, particularly for the patients with trauma injuries, and most of them are civilians. We’ve treated more than 6 500 patients in the ER emergency room with war wounds [and] injuries since the beginning of the war. And when we look at it, more than 30% of them were just children and women,” Agbas said.

The Sudan war has taken a disastrous toll on its people, with over 10 million internally and externally displaced Sudanese. The day-to-day lives of people living in the war zone have been shattered, with education, the political and governing system, infrastructure, and resources all having been impacted.

“It is quite difficult to see hope in the future for Sudanese society in this current situation where both parties, warring parties, focuses on their war efforts but unfortunately disregards the necessities and the requirements that the society needs at a minimum level to continue their lives and for prosperity and future. In that picture right now, it’s unfortunately hard to say how it will go, but we are worried about particularly the situation, the status of the civilians, both from healthcare perspective, from mental health, from education, from protection perspectives at the moment,” Agbas said.

Listen to the full interview on Sabaahul Muslim with Moulana Sulaimaan Ravat here.