Fighters in Sudan have seized a biolab containing contagious disease pathogens, raising fears of a deadly outbreak

• Fighters in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum have seized a laboratory, the World Health Organization said.
• The lab contains samples of pathogens, including measles and cholera.
• The WHO warned the situation could spark a "high risk of biological hazard."

Fighters have seized a biolab in the Sudanese capital of Khartoum that contains contagious disease pathogens, the World Health Organization said Tuesday.

Speaking to news outlets, Nima Saeed Abid, the WHO's representative in the country, said that lab technicians had been unable to access the National Public Health Laboratory after it was seized by fighters whose allegiance he didn't disclose.

Abid described the development to CNN as "extremely dangerous because we have polio isolates in the lab, we have measles isolates in the lab, we have cholera isolates in the lab."

The WHO said that a range of pathogens are stored at the facility, including measles and cholera, as well as other hazardous materials.

Energy cuts also risked spoiling blood bags kept at the lab, it said, according to Reuters. 

In recent days the city has been the scene of ferocious fighting between government forces and a paramilitary group, the RSF, short for Rapid Support Forces.

Abid said that "there is a huge biological risk associated with the occupation of the central public health lab in Khartoum by one of the fighting parties."

According to the BBC, much of the fiercest fighting is now taking place near critical infrastructure in Khartoum, including hospitals.