In a statement issued on Tuesday evening, a United Nations official highlighted the intensifying conflict in Sudan, revealing that it has led to the displacement of more than 4 million people from their homes, including over 884,000 individuals who sought refuge in neighboring countries.
The ongoing fighting has also triggered the spread of diseases and exacerbated malnutrition, according to William Spindler, spokesperson for the United Nations Refugee Agency.
From mid-May to mid-July, the agency recorded more than 300 deaths due to measles and malnutrition, especially among children under the age of five, Spindler informed reporters in Geneva.
These revelations come as clashes escalate between the Sudanese army and rival Rapid Support Forces in the eastern part of the capital city, Khartoum, and the nearby city of Omdurman.
Military operations in Khartoum and the surrounding area on Monday resulted in the deaths of at least 20 members of the Rapid Support Forces, as confirmed by Nabil Abdullah, army spokesperson.
Competing forces have ordered civilians to evacuate the Abu Roaf area along the riverbanks in Omdurman due to intensifying combat, according to Sudanese Resistance Committees.
In June, the government reported that more than 3,000 individuals had been killed in the Sudanese conflict up to that point, but no data has been released since then. Activists and medical professionals suggest that the true death toll is likely significantly higher.
Spindler also warned that with the onset of the rainy season in Sudan, the UN agency anticipates increased rates of cholera and malaria in the coming months.
Last autumn, floods claimed the lives of dozens of people across the country.
