Sudanese war death toll much higher than previously reported

By Linda Bordoni

A new study published by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine’s Sudan Research Group this week said that more than 61,000 people have died in Khartoum state, where the fighting began last year.

Many more people have died elsewhere in the country, especially in the western region of Darfur, where there have been numerous reports of atrocities and ethnic cleansing.

The 19-month conflict in the northeast African nation erupted in April 2023 as a result of a power struggle between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces – the RSF - and the Sudanese Army.

The war has created the world's worst humanitarian crisis, with many thousands at risk of famine, and almost 12 million people forcibly displaced. Until now, the UN and other aid agencies have been using the figure of 20,000 confirmed deaths because the fighting and chaos in the country, has not allowed for a systematic recording of the number of people killed.

Violation of arms embargo

In a separate development on Friday, it has emerged that French-made military equipment fitted to armoured vehicles from the United Arab Emirates are reportedly being used by the RSF.

This would constitute a violation of a 2004 United Nations arms embargo as well as a European Union arms embargo on Sudan since 1994

The revelation by Amnesty International comes in the wake of a United Nations call to stop supplying weapons to Sudan’s warring parties.

Both the Sudanese Military and the RSF are escalating their military operations and recruiting new fighters fuelled by “considerable” external support and a steady flow of arms, said Rosemary DiCarlo, the UN undersecretary-general for political and peacebuilding affairs.

“To put it bluntly, certain purported allies of the parties are enabling the slaughter in Sudan,” she told the UN Security Council this week,  without naming any of the countries or parties sending weapons. “This is unconscionable – DiCarlo added - It is illegal, and it must end.”

(Source: various news agencies)