Death toll in Sudan conflict reaches over six hundred

Over 600 people have died in weeks of armed conflict in Sudan’s capital Khartoum, the World Health Organization has said.

World Health Organization spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic, announced the new figures in a UN briefing, including 604 dead and 5,127 injured since the unrest in Sudan began on April 14.

There are now more than 700,000 people internally displaced in Sudan, Jasarevic said, more than double the 340,000 from just a week ago.

On April 15, fighting erupted between the Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in Khartoum and its surroundings.

A disagreement had been fomenting in recent months between the Sudanese army and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitaries over RSF integration into the armed forces, a key condition of Sudan’s transition agreement with political groups.

Sudan’s transitional period, which started in August 2019 after the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir, had been scheduled to end with elections in early 2024.