Death toll in Sudan conflict reaches 850, some 5,500 injured, says WHO

Geneva, May 30 (EFE).- At least 850 people have been killed in Sudan since the deadly fighting began on Apr.15 between the Sudanese National Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Force (RSF), said the World Health Organization (WHO) on Tuesday.

Another more than 5,500 people have been injured, WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic said at a press conference in Geneva, citing the Sudanese Ministry of Health.

The spokesperson said they have recorded at least 45 armed attacks against medical facilities, including hospitals, emergency ambulances and medical supplies, in which eight people were killed and 18 were injured.

“This has to stop. The attacks on healthcare are against international laws and all parties (involved in conflict) have to ensure safety of health facilities and patience,” he said through the live telecast.

Jasarevic said parties in the conflict in some areas have also occupied hospitals and main medicines warehouses of the country.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) last week said only 20 percent of health facilities were still functioning in Sudan’s capital Khartoum, which have been affected the most in the ongoing conflict.

The spokesman for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), James Elder, said in the press conference “hundreds of girls and boys” were reportedly killed and thousands of children were maimed in Sudan since the start of the conflict. EFE

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