Dr. Ali El-Haj: ‘Connection between bombings and fever outbreak’

Dr. Ali El-Haj Mohammed, assistant secretary general of the Popular Congress Party, stated in an interview with Radio Dabanga on Saturday November 3, that all signs and evidence point to a connection between the hemorrhagic fever that is spreading in South and Central Darfur, and the remnants of the continuous aerial bombardments of the past two months in several areas of East Jebel Marra. The fever infected hundreds of people and livestock, leading to cases of poisoning and death.
In the first part of the interview, the assistant Secretary General said that the connection confirms the Government of Sudan (GoS) used prohibited weapons. Residents from East Jebel Marra claim the aircrafts dropped gas bombs, which reportedly led to poisoning of the eyes and breathing problems. Dr. Ali added that the bombs caused contamination of East Jebel Marra’s waterways and valleys.
Viruses
He emphasized that the spread of the hemorrhagic fever in Wadi Azum; a large valley flowing across Jebel Marra, South, Central and West Darfur, is caused by viruses and he added that the disease might have emerged from the ‘infected’ water. Dr. Ali El-Haj stated: “there is a close connection between the bombing of areas in East Jebel Marra and the spread of the fever among humans and animals in Darfur.” He continued: “I believe it is strongly connected to the spread of the viruses, and therefore an independent body must confirm whether this is correct or not and whether the virus causing the fever is natural, man-made or transplanted.”
On the same matter, the assistant Secretary General claimed the existence of another connection promoting and supporting, of what is happening in Darfur and the crash of a Sudanese army aircraft (Antonov). The Antonov aircraft reportedly exploded on October 10 in a neighborhood in west Omdurman.
The aircraft was said to be carrying missiles and bombs; gas bombs, to the city of El-Fasher. Dr. Ali said that the pilots preferred to crash the plane in the outskirts of Omdurman instead of returning to Khartoum airport and explode there, as it would cause ‘destruction and waste’. He explained that the area, where the plane crashed, is an open area and expressed his fear that it has been heavily polluted as a result of the crash.
‘Environmental disaster’
The assistant Secretary General warned that an environmental disaster might hit the capital after the shelling of Yarmouk military arms factory. After the shelling, 41 large containers reportedly loaded with weapons, have disappeared “in the depths of the earth”. Dr. Ali said “people, no matter how different their views might be, they all agree that the containers have disappeared”, and he added: “I believe they did not disappear, I believe they went somewhere, via air or water and were used.”
He stressed: “this will have consequences for the environment, without a doubt, and on its turn it will have an impact on the people as well, as it has already affected the water and nobody can escape the impact of pollution of the Nile and underground wells. All the people in Sudan will suffer”, he added and continued: “I fear that this disease will spread to other regions than Darfur, it might even spread to Khartoum, who knows; those weapons are manufactured in Khartoum.”
He expressed his belief that all weapons in the 41 missing containers were not meant for export, but used against the people of Sudan itself; South Kordofan, Darfur and Blue Bue Nile Sate.
At the same time, Dr. Ali demanded the GoS to reveal what kind of the weapons were stored in the 41 missing containers, as well as those used in Darfur, adding that those weapons caused the ongoing disaster in the region. He added that this ongoing disaster calls for an intervention by external parties such as the World Health Organization (WHO), to disclose all facts and provide a protective vaccination for the people in Khartoum and other parts of Sudan to minimize the environmental impact.
Dr. Ali expressed his lack of confidence in the GoS and believed it would not reveal what happened, which requires the opposition “to ring the bells in the outside world, to talk about it and ask organizations (led by WHO) to intervene in order to minimize the effects caused by the destruction of Yarmouk factory and what has happened in East Jebel Marra and the spreading fever.”
He added that the ministry of health is not capable of conducting such an investigation, due to its inability and lack of freedom in movement, Dr. Ali El-Haj added to Radio Dabanga.