WHO warns of 'huge biological risk' as Sudan fighters storm laboratory
WHO warns of 'huge biological risk' as Sudan fighters storm national laboratory holding samples of polio, cholera and measles
By James Callery
, updated
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- Fighters occupied a central public laboratory in the capital Khartoum
- WHO representative said technicians unable to access it to secure the materials
The World Health Organization warned on Tuesday that there is 'a huge biological risk' associated with the occupation of a central public health lab as fighters stormed the building.
The World Health Organization said that fighters in conflict-ravaged Sudan had occupied a central public laboratory in the capital Khartoum, holding samples of diseases including polio and measles and creating an 'extremely, extremely dangerous' situation.
'There is a huge biological risk associated with the occupation of the central public health lab... by one of the fighting parties,' Nima Saeed Abid, the WHO's representative in Sudan, told reporters in Geneva via video-link.
Abid said technicians were unable to access the National Public Health Laboratory to secure the materials.
'This is the main concern: no accessibility to the lab technicians to go to the lab and safely contain the biological material and substances available,' he said, declining to specify which side had seized the facility.
Fighting erupted between the Sudanese armed forces and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitaries on April 15 and has killed at least 459 people and injured 4,072, according to the WHO's latest figures.
The clashes have paralysed hospitals and other essential services and left many stranded in their homes with dwindling supplies of food and water.
The United Nations humanitarian office (OCHA) has been forced to cut back on some of its activities in parts of Sudan due to intense fighting.
At least five aid workers have been killed since the fighting broke out and the two UN agencies who lost staff, the International Organization for Migration and the World Food Programme, have suspended their activities.
'In areas where intense fighting has hampered our humanitarian operations, we have been forced to reduce our footprint,' said Jens Laerke, spokesperson for the OCHA. 'But we are committed to continue to deliver for the people of Sudan.'
He said an OCHA team would be leading humanitarian operations out of Port Sudan after transferring from Khartoum.
Patrick Youssef, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Regional Director for Africa, urged other countries to continue putting pressure on Sudan to find a 'long-lasting solution', even after foreigners had been evacuated.
A US-brokered 72-hour ceasefire between Sudan's warring generals officially came into effect on Tuesday after 10 days of urban combat killed hundreds, wounded thousands and sparked a mass exodus of foreigners.
The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) agreed to the ceasefire 'following intense negotiations', Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement shortly before the truce took effect at midnight (2200 GMT Monday).
Previous bids to pause the conflict failed to take hold, but both sides confirmed they had agreed to the three-day halt.
'This ceasefire aims to establish humanitarian corridors, allowing citizens and residents to access essential resources, healthcare, and safe zones, while also evacuating diplomatic missions,' the RSF paramilitary tweeted.
In a statement on Facebook, the SAF said it would also abide by the ceasefire on condition its rivals did so.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned earlier that Sudan was on 'the edge of the abyss' and that the violence 'could engulf the whole region and beyond'.
The fighting has pitted forces loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan against those of his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the RSF.
The RSF emerged from the Janjaweed militia that then-president Omar al-Bashir unleashed in Darfur, leading to war crimes charges against Bashir and others.
The Forces of Freedom and Change, the main civilian bloc that the two generals ousted from power in a 2021 coup, said the truce would allow for 'dialogue on the modalities of a permanent ceasefire'.
Among the latest to be killed in the conflict was the assistant administrative attache at Cairo's embassy in Khartoum, Egypt's foreign ministry said.
Britain launched a large-scale evacuation of its citizens from Sudan on Tuesday, joining other nations racing to get their people out of the North African country after the ceasefire was agreed.
Britain said military flights would depart from an airfield outside Khartoum and would be open to those with British passports. Priority will be given to family groups with children, the elderly and individuals with medical conditions.
'The government has begun a large-scale evacuation of British passport holders from Sudan on RAF flights,' Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said on Twitter. 'I pay tribute to the British Armed Forces, diplomats and Border Force staff carrying out this complex operation.'
Foreign Secretary James Cleverly said the government had started contacting nationals directly and providing routes for departure but would not be able to provide escorts to the airport.
Cleverly said he had spoken, either directly or through intermediaries, with the leaders of the warring Sudanese factions to facilitate the evacuation.
'We will continue to push for the maintenance of this ceasefire,' Cleverly told reporters in London.
On Monday, the government estimated that around 4,000 British nationals were in Sudan and said there was a British military team in the east of the country doing reconnaissance on possible evacuation options.
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WHO warns of 'huge biological risk' as Sudan fighters storm national laboratory
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