Sudan is facing a "huge biological risk" after fighters took control of a public laboratory holding samples of deadly pathogens including those that cause polio, cholera and measles, a local World Health Organization (WHO) chief has warned.
During a call with reporters via video link on Tuesday, Dr. Nima Saeed Abid, the international organization's representative in the West African nation since August 2020, said that technicians were currently unable to access the lab to secure the infectious materials, describing it as an "extremely, extremely dangerous" situation, according to Agency France Presse.
The remarks came amid a fragile 72-hour ceasefire after fighting broke out between the Sudanese military and forces controlled by a military junta. Since violent exchanges began on April 15, at least 427 people have been killed and 3,700 injured, according to recent figures from WHO.
Thousands of people have been displaced by the conflict, fleeing to areas less affected by fighting or to neighboring countries, and many Western nations have sought to rescue nationals within Sudan.
Access to healthcare has been hampered by a lack of basic supplies and fuel, and the WHO has confirmed 14 attacks on healthcare facilities, killing eight people. Twenty hospitals have been forced to close due to a lack of resources, while the WHO said it could have saved a quarter of the lives of those killed if it had access to the injured.
Abid said that militants now occupied the National Public Health Laboratory in Khartoum—the Sudanese capital and one of the main areas of clashes—but declined to say which group, Reuters reported.
"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, adding that there was "a huge biological risk associated with the occupation."
Newsweek reached out to WHO's regional office via email for comment on Tuesday.
The lab is a partnership between the Sudanese government and various international aid organizations including WHO, and had been coordinating COVID-19 testing at the capital's international airport, which the BBC reports has been overrun by the Rapid Support Forces militia.
On Monday, a three-day ceasefire was announced, brokered by the United States and Saudi Arabia, in order to allow citizens to access healthcare and safe zones, and for foreign diplomats to be able to flee. There had been intermittent breaks in fighting during Muslim holidays over the weekend.
It is unclear how effective the ceasefire has been, and how long it would hold. Following the agreement, heavy gunfire and explosions could still be heard across Khartoum, according to the Associated Press.
On Saturday, President Joe Biden announced the military had conducted an operation to extract American embassy personnel from Khartoum.
"This tragic violence in Sudan has already cost the lives of hundreds of innocent civilians. It's unconscionable and it must stop," Biden said.
In a White House press briefing on Monday, National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan said the government was "actively facilitating the departure of American citizens who want to leave Sudan," and had "deployed U.S. intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets to support land evacuation routes, which Americans are using."
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Aleks Phillips is a Newsweek U.S. News Reporter based in London. His focus is on U.S. politics and the environment. ... Read more
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