Geneva, June 13 (EFE).- At least 866 people have died and 6,083 have been injured in Sudan since clashes between the country’s army and a powerful paramilitary group erupted almost two months ago, the World Health Organisation reported on Tuesday.
The data provided to WHO by the Sudanese health ministry was collated on June 6.
WHO spokesperson Carla Drysdale told reporters at a press conference that in Khartoum, 320 people had died and a further 3,508 had been injured.
According to WHO, 4.7 million people need humanitarian aid and the agency is particularly concerned about children and pregnant women, and breastfeeding mothers.
Drysdale added that over 100,000 children under the age of five faced a severe risk of malnutrition that could cause them medical complications.
UN agencies have estimated that since clashes between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) broke out on April 15, more than 1.4 million people have been displaced within Sudan.
The country in the horn of Africa was already grappling with 3.7 million internally displaced people in its western Darfur region before the conflict flared.
WHO reported that medical supplies were being delivered to Sudan from its new command post in the northeastern city of Port Sudan.
In the rest of Sudan, the organization depends on the warring factions to gain access to the civilians.
Meanwhile, Kenya’s President William Ruto on Tuesday vowed to lead face-to-face talks with Sudan’s warring generals, after Monday’s Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad) meeting.
“We have taken the decision that the quartet of Kenya, Ethiopia, South Sudan and Somalia, will, in the next ten days, meet face to face with General Al-Burhan and General Daglo…so that we can speak to them directly on behalf of Igad, with the view of stopping the war that is raging,” Ruto said at a press briefing in Djibouti.
“Kenya commits to meet the two Sudan generals face to face to find a lasting solution to the crisis,” he added.
Previous attempts by Saudi Arabia and the United States to lead indirect talks have failed.
Over the weekend a ceasefire that lasted until Sunday at 6:00 am gave some respite to civilians after the mediators warned they could break off peace mediation efforts if the warring factions did not respect the truce.
The conflict in Sudan pits troops loyal to Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, the commander-in-chief, against RSF militiamen led by Mohammed Hamdan Daglo, known as Hemedti.
Hemedti supported al-Burhan in October 2021 when the general seized control of the Sovereign Council that has governed Sudan since the ouster of dictator Omar al-Bashir in 2019.
But long-standing tensions between the regular army and the RSF paramilitaries erupted into open combat amid discussions about reorganizing the military to expedite a return to civilian rule.EFE
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