More than 20,000 people have died in Sudan over the last 16 months, according to a top United Nations official, a sad figure in the midst of a terrible conflict that has wreaked havoc on the northern African country.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organisation, announced the figure on Sunday at a news conference in Sudan’s Red Sea city of Port Sudan, which houses the internationally acknowledged, military-backed administration. He claimed the death toll might be far higher.
“Sudan is suffering through a perfect storm of crisis,” Tedros remarked as he concluded his two-day visit to Sudan. “The scale of the emergency is shocking, as is the insufficient action being taken to curtail the conflict.”
Sudan was plunged into instability in April last year when simmering tensions between the military and a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces erupted into open conflict throughout the country.
The violence has turned the capital, Khartoum, and other major centers into battlegrounds, wreaking havoc on civilian infrastructure and an already weakened healthcare system.
Many hospitals and medical facilities have closed due to a lack of essential supplies.
The conflict resulted in the world’s largest displacement crisis. More than 13 million people have been forced to evacuate their homes since the conflict began, according to the International Organisation for Migration.
More than 2.3 million people have fled to other countries as refugees.
According to the UN and international rights groups, the battle has resulted in atrocities such as mass rape and racially motivated killings, which constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.
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