In a dimly lit makeshift emergency room buried beneath the ground in the besieged town of El-Fasher in western Sudan, gynecologist Elaf Mohamed tends to her third patient of the day. The thundering boom of an explosion shakes the earth as another missile smashes into the surface above.
“We perform surgeries, sometimes up to 12 procedures a day, in these underground shelters,” Dr. Elaf told Drop Site News by phone. “We carry out emergency operations on women with gunshot or shell injuries, as well as caesarian sections, all while being severely short of medical equipment.”
Shelling by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) over El-Fasher has intensified in recent weeks as the paramilitary group pushes to capture the capital of North Darfur from the Sudanese National Army (SNA). Nearly two years of fighting in a bitter power struggle between the SNA and RSF that erupted in April 2023 has brought Sudan to the brink of collapse. The conflict has triggered the largest displacement crisis in the world, with more than 14 million people uprooted from their homes, tens of thousands killed, and the country’s civilian infrastructure devastated. Famine is sweeping parts of the country with over 750,000 people on the brink of starvation……more
