Sudan's hospitals increasingly targeted as warring sides hold talks in Geneva

Humanitarian aid and protection of civilians dominate UN-led negotiations between the army and the RSF

The war is believed to have killed tens of thousands and displaced about 10 million people – the most in any country. AFP

Hospitals and healthcare facilities in Sudan are coming under increasing attack, the World Health Organisation has warned, as representatives of the warring parties hold talks in Geneva on humanitarian aid and protecting civilians.

Delegations from the Sudanese Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces are in Geneva at the invitation of Ramtane Lamamra, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres's envoy for Sudan.

The discussions are taking place under the so-called proximity format, whereby Mr Lamamra meets each delegation separately in different rooms. The two sides are not due to meet directly.

Mr Lamamra and his team have had several meetings with both delegations, according to UN spokeswoman Alessandra Vellucci.

“The teams engaged intensively on the two key items discussed during these talks: humanitarian assistance and protection of civilians,” she said.

“The discussions are continuing this week.”

No end date has been scheduled.

The delegations comprise senior representatives of the warring parties and humanitarian, security and military experts.

Laundry is hung at a displacement camp in Gedaref city in the east of Sudan. AFP

The war between the army and the RSF broke out in April last year after months of tension between them over their future mandate in a democratic Sudan.

The war is believed to have killed tens of thousands, displaced about 10 million people – the most in any country – and created a humanitarian crisis.

A recent UN-backed report said nearly 26 million people, or slightly more than half of the population, were facing high levels of “acute food insecurity”.

Shible Sahbani, WHO’s representative in Sudan, said there were “a few promising signs” from the talks in Geneva.

“Let's wait for the coming hours and days, and we hope that … if we don't get a ceasefire, at least we can get the protection of civilians and the opening of humanitarian corridors,” he said, speaking from Port Sudan, the country’s main city on the Red Sea.

The situation in Sudan is an “unfolding humanitarian catastrophe”, he said.

“If we don't take action now, the rapidly deteriorating situation in Sudan could spiral out of hand, permitting the unchecked reign of diseases, malnutrition and trauma with transgenerational impact on Sudan's people.”

Displaced children share a meal provided by a charity at a camp in Gedaref city. AFP

WHO has meanwhile said it had recorded 82 attacks on healthcare facilities, “including 17 in the last six weeks alone”, said Hanan Balkhy, the agency’s Eastern Mediterranean regional director.

The country is suffering from the spread of diseases such as cholera, malaria and meningitis, she added.

The US and Saudi Arabia brokered a series of ceasefires in the conflict’s early days but they either collapsed instantly or were not fully observed.

Army chief Gen Abdel Fattah Al Burhan earlier this year rejected an invitation to resume talks in the Saudi city of Jeddah, saying he would participate in renewed negotiations only if the RSF withdrew from private homes and government offices and across the country.

This week, his deputy, Gen Yasser Al Atta, appeared to dismiss the prospect of fresh negotiations altogether.

“No truce and no negotiations. Only one thing, their surrender,” he said. “No negotiations, even if we have to fight those low-lifes for 100 years. There will be no future for Sudan unless we remove them.”

Both the army and the RSF, led by Gen Al Burhan's one-time ally Gen Mohamed Dagalo, are accused of war crimes, with the paramilitary singled out for alleged ethnically motivated killings, sexual assaults and torture.

The army stands accused of killing thousands of civilians in air strikes targeting RSF positions in densely populated areas.