MSF Aids War-Torn Sudan Region despite Khartoum's Access Denial
Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is working in Sudan's war-torn South Kordofan despite Khartoum's denial of access to parts of the state, it said Monday, confirming some aid has got through.
Sudan tightly restricted the movement of aid agencies in South Kordofan after fighting with rebels of the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) erupted in June 2011.
Since that year, aid agencies have had no access into SPLM-N areas from within Sudan, although some foreign humanitarian groups operate in government-held zones of the state.
"We started cross-border operations as the government in Khartoum denied access to international NGOs despite the medical needs of the civilians," said Gwenola Francois of the Paris-based MSF.
"MSF perceived at that time that there was a clear lack of access to health care, in terms of qualified medical staff and drugs supply," and began its South Kordofan project in 2012, Francois told Agence France Presse.
Francois, who is program manager for South Sudan, Sudan, Ethiopia and Chad, was elaborating on MSF operations after the group announced last week that Sudanese air force bombs hit its hospital in Farandalla, South Kordofan.
At that time, the group, known in French as Medecins Sans Frontieres, did not say that the hospital was part of a cross-border operation managed from outside Sudan.
Francois' comments are the first confirmation that a foreign aid group has been able to enter and operate in areas of South Kordofan disputed between rebel and government forces, an extremely sensitive issue for Khartoum.
Last week, MSF said that six people, including an MSF staffer, were wounded when Sudanese air force bombs struck Farandalla village and two hit the hospital.
Sudan's military denied the incident, saying it does not target civilians.
Such actions "amount to serious violations of international law and may constitute war crimes," Canada's Foreign Minister John Baird said on Friday.
Britain's minister for Africa, Mark Simmonds, said in a Tweet that he was shocked by reports of the "totally unacceptable" bombing.
A picture taken before the incident showed MSF's flag flying outside the simple facility, part of which is made of wood on a sandy lot with hills in the distance. There are outbuildings and a more solid structure in the background.
MSF said the hospital had a cross on the roof and its position had been communicated to authorities in Khartoum.
With outpatient and inpatient wards, the hospital had carried out nearly 65,000 consultations and had close to 2,300 admissions.
"We are not sure yet about the exact operational status of the hospital as communication with the team on the ground is not easy," Francois told AFP.
"We know that there has been significant damage, but our team is still working with what has been left. The ward itself seems untouched."
Francois said that at the time of the bombing it was staffed exclusively by locals.
Farandalla is in the southern part of South Kordofan, about halfway between the key rebel-held town of Kauda, and Yida just over the border in South Sudan.
MSF, one of the few health care providers in South Kordofan, also supports five health centers in the disputed area.
"Unfortunately, we can’t say if there are other international actors working in South Kordofan," Francois said.
In May, the former Catholic bishop for the region said the church-run Mother of Mercy Catholic Hospital, in South Kordofan's Nuba Mountains, was the victim of "deliberate targeting and bombing" by Sudan's air force.
More than one million people have been affected by the wars in South Kordofan and another state, Blue Nile.
Source: Agence France Presse
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