Amid UN appeals to countries neighboring Khartoum to keep the borders open, the Sudanese Ministry of Health announced today (Wednesday) that the death toll from clashes between the army and the Rapid Support Forces has risen to 512, with 4,193 injuries.
The ministry said in a statement: The state of Khartoum alone witnessed 169 deaths and 2,403 injuries during that period, explaining that the leaders of the two parties had been contacted to demand to move away from hospitals and health facilities and not to take them as focal points, in order to facilitate the movement of cadres, doctors and supply operations.
She pointed out that health services in the country are relatively stable, and that some hospitals have returned to service after a hiatus, adding: coordination has been made for drug supply and disease control from the World Health Organization and a number of organizations operating in the country.
And the Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, had warned that 61% of health facilities in Khartoum are closed, and only 16% of them are operating as usual, and he expected more deaths in Sudan due to disease outbreaks in light of the situation in the country.
This came at a time when the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, appealed to Sudan’s neighboring countries to keep their borders open to refugees, explaining in a statement that the organization will increase its support to the governments of Sudan’s neighboring countries as they are ready to receive larger numbers of arrivals.
Grandi expressed the organization’s deep concern that the conflict in Sudan has forced tens of thousands of people to leave their homes in search of safety inside and outside the country.
He pointed out that at least 20,000 Sudanese refugees fled to neighboring Chad, while at least 4,000 refugees from South Sudan were forced to return to their country.
