WHO condemns attacks on Sudanese doctors

Dozens of Sudanese doctors have demonstrated in Khartoum to denounce attacks by security forces against medical personnel and doctors during pro-democracy rallies opposed to the October military coup. Carrying pictures of colleagues they say have been killed in the turmoil that has gripped Sudan over the past months, the doctors rallied in their white uniforms. ‘During every protest they (security forces) fire tear gas inside the hospital where I work,’ Houda Ahmad, a doctor who took part in the rally, told AFP. ‘They even attack us inside the intensive care unit,’ she said. According to the WHO, there have been 11 confirmed attacks on health workers and health facilities in Sudan since November. A report on the EWN site notes that the WHO said it was also aware ‘of the interception of ambulances, medical personnel and patients during their attempts to seek safety’. Sudan has revoked the licence of the live-streaming channel of Al Jazeera's television network. BBC News reports that Al Jazeera Mubasher said its team had been barred from working in Sudan, which had accused them of biased coverage of opposition rallies. The station’s Khartoum bureau chief was arrested and held for three days without charge.