UN says attacks on Sudan health workers 'must stop'

The United Nations on Friday called for a stop to attacks on medical workers in Sudan, amid increasing violence in the war-torn country.

"Attacks on healthcare workers and facilities are a violation of international humanitarian law. They must stop now," UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a press briefing on Friday.

Dujarric added that the The World Health Organization (WHO) has verified more than 50 attacks on health workers since Sudan's conflict broke out in mid-April.

The statement followed an attack on Thursday on a Medecins Sans Frontiers (MSF) team that was transporting medical supplies to Khartoum's Turkish hospital - one of only two hospitals operating in the Sudanese capital.

MSF said in a statement that attacks on its workers may force the aid group to withdraw operations completely.

"If an incident like this happens again, and if our ability to move supplies continues to be obstructed, then, regrettably, our presence in the Turkish Hospital will soon become untenable," said Christophe Garnier, MSF's emergencies manager for Sudan.

The fighting broke out last April following a power struggle between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former deputy, RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. It has since claimed at least 3,000 lives.

Some 680,000 people have already fled Sudan, while over 2 million more are internally displaced.