Khartoum – Members of emergency rooms in Khartoum State have revealed that they are facing a wave of stringent security and administrative restrictions, which they say are obstructing the provision of essential services to citizens amid the current situation.
In a statement to Radio Dabanga, a member of the Bahri Emergency Committee – who requested anonymity for security reasons – said that volunteers are being subjected to continuous harassment and arrests by the “security cell”. He explained that local authorities have imposed onerous conditions on their activities, including an instruction to hand over all donations to the Ministry of Social Welfare, and a ban on carrying out any field activities without obtaining prior approval from the ministry.
The source pointed out that ministry officials justified these measures by claiming that “the emergency committees have been dissolved”, which has created a gap in field coordination. He added that the tightening of restrictions has not been limited to government ministries, but has also extended to educational institutions: school principals now refuse to receive or provide any voluntary services on school premises unless a formal request is submitted to, and approved by, the Ministry of Education.
These developments come at a time when thousands of families in the capital rely on community kitchens (takyas) and medical services run voluntarily by the emergency rooms to fill the humanitarian gap created by the ongoing conflict.
Source: Radio Dabanga