413 People Have Died in Sudan Fighting, WHO Reports
- Planet Labs PBC via AP.
VIVA – The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday that 413 people were killed and 3,551 injured during military battles in Sudan, based on Sudanese government data.
Meanwhile, the UN Children's agency (UNICEF) said at least nine children were reported killed in fighting in Sudan, and more than 50 children were seriously injured. The WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris said, there have been 11 attacks on health facilities, including 10 attacks since April 15, 2023.
"According to the Health Ministry in Sudan, the number of health facilities that have stopped operating is 20. And still, according to the Ministry of Health's figures, the number of health facilities at risk of stopping is 12," Harris informed.
The situation, he said, not only affects the victims because of fighting but also other people who need health services.
Rakyat Sudan tetap menggelar protes di jalan guna menuntut Dewan Peralihan Militer (MTC) menyerahkan kekuasaan kepada pemerintah sipil.
- Anadolu Agency.
In the same press conference, UNICEF Spokesperson James Elder voiced his concern over children paying the price for the deadly fighting with many child casualties.
"We have reports of at least nine children killed and at least 50 wounded. The number will continue to rise as long as the fighting continues," he stated.
Moreover, Elder said many people in Sudan are trapped and have no access to electricity, "They are afraid of running out of food, water, and medicine. One of our serious concerns is about hospitals being attacked," he continued.
Elder further explained that before the latest military conflict, Sudan already had one of the highest rates of child malnutrition in the world.
"And we now face a situation where critical life-saving support for about 50,000 children is at risk," he said.
The fighting also poses a risk to the "cold chain" in Sudan, including the procurement of vaccines and insulin worth more than US$40 million due to the interruption of electricity supply and the inability to replenish generators with fuel.
UNICEF has also received reports of children taking refuge in schools and care centers while fighting raged around them, and children's hospitals being forced to evacuate as the firefights grew closer.
Elder said that before the escalation of violence in Sudan, humanitarian needs for children in the country were high, with three-quarters of children estimated to be living in extreme poverty.
At the same time, as many as 11.5 million children and community members needed emergency water and sanitation services, 7 million children were out of school, and more than 600,000 children suffered from severe acute malnutrition.
Fighting culminated on April 15, 2023, between the Sudanese Army (SAF) and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the capital Khartoum and surrounding areas.
