More than 16 months of war in Sudan have claimed over 20,000 lives, according to a senior United Nations official on Sunday, marking a tragic milestone in the ongoing conflict ravaging the northeastern African nation.
Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the director general of the World Health Organisation, revealed the grim toll during a news conference in Port Sudan, the seat of the internationally recognised military-backed government.
He warned that the actual number of deaths might be significantly higher.
Wrapping up his two-day visit to Sudan, Tedros described the country as enduring a “perfect storm of crisis,” lamenting the “shocking scale of the emergency” and the lack of adequate efforts to quell the conflict.
Sudan has been in turmoil since April last year when long-standing tensions between the military and the Rapid Support Forces erupted into full-scale warfare across the nation.
Urban areas, including the capital Khartoum, have been ravaged by the ongoing conflict, which has devastated civilian infrastructure and further crippled the struggling healthcare system.
Lacking essential supplies, numerous hospitals and medical facilities have been forced to shut down.
According to the International Organization for Migration, the conflict has triggered the largest displacement crisis in the world, forcing over 13 million people from their homes, including more than 2.3 million refugees fleeing to neighboring countries.
The conflict has been defined by brutal atrocities, including mass rapes and ethnically targeted killings, which the U.N. and human rights organizations have condemned as war crimes and crimes against humanity.
U.N.-backed investigators on Friday called for the creation of an ‘independent and impartial force’ to protect civilians, holding both sides responsible for war crimes such as murder, mutilation, and torture.
In recent weeks, devastating seasonal floods have worsened Sudan’s crisis, with dozens dead and vital infrastructure destroyed in 12 of the country’s 18 provinces, according to local officials.
A cholera outbreak has added to the suffering, killing at least 165 people and infecting around 4,200, the health ministry reported on Friday.
Tedros appealed for global attention and assistance, stating, “We are calling on the world to wake up and help Sudan out of the nightmare it’s living through,” and emphasized the urgent need for a cease-fire.
“The best medicine is peace,” he added.
YOU MAY ALSO READ: Over 30 people, 50 cows killed as petrol-laden tanker explodes in Northern Nigeria