Man shot by Sudan forces unable to get surgery

A man shot during one of the recent protests did not undergo surgery to extract the bullet, reportedly shot by a sniper in Khartoum, because the Sudanese hospitals do not have the necessary equipment for the operation and he is banned from travelling.

Yasir El Sir was hit by a bullet that pierced his right lung and settled near his ninth rib during a protest on December 25. His family announced in a statement that he spent nine nights in Fadil Hospital in the intensive care unit and was allowed to leave on January 3.

“In this area the Sudanese hospitals are not equipped with the necessary equipment to carry out this type of sensitive operations, and it requires a transfer abroad. But the security services put his name on the ban list,” the statement read.

Members of the security service have raided the family’s house and arrested Yasir El Sir, according to the family. The place of detention or health condition of Yasir are not known until now.

The family appealed to human rights organisations to pressure the Sudanese authorities for his release and immediately allow him to travel abroad to continue medical treatment.

The first large-scale protests against the economic crisis in Sudan broke out on December 19 in the Sudanese capital, El Gedaref, Wad Madani, Berber, Atbara, El Obeid, Port Sudan, Dongola, Kosti and several other towns in River Nile state and Sennar. The Sudanese Doctors Committee was the first group to independently confirm the killing of demonstrators by police fire.

The Sudanese government reported on December 28 the killing of 19 people, including two policemen. According to human rights watchdog Amnesty International on December 25, however, 37 people were killed in the protests’ first five days.

News this week about the protests include relatively less witness reports of the security service and riot police using live bullets, instead, they have been reported to use water cannons to disperse the crowds.