‘Thousands of bodies’ left to decompose in Sudan’s capital as morgues reach ‘breaking point’

Thousands of bodies have been left to decompose in the streets of Sudan’s capital Khartoum due to widespread overcrowding in the city’s morgues. According to reports from local media, the Khartoum morgue has reached a “breaking point”, with local officials saying that the issue has been caused by overworked staff who are struggling to cope with the increasing numbers of dead bodies arriving from the city’s hospitals. It is believed that the majority of those who are dying in Khartoum are victims of a deadly heatwave that has swept across the region in recent months, coupled with a shortage of medical staff and resources. The humanitarian situation is so bad that the Ministry of Health has been forced to recruit hundreds of workers to help cope with the influx of corpses. Meanwhile, families of the dead are struggling to arrange funerals as thousands of bodies continue to decompose in the streets. The United Nations (UN) has warned that the situation is quickly emerging as a public health crisis. The World Health Organisation (WHO) is urging the Sudanese government to urgently address the situation and provide burial services.