427 Dead, Thousands Injured Due to Conflict in Sudan: OCHA

April 23, 2023 (KHARTOUM) – At least 427 people have died across the country, with over 3,700 injured as result of the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Sudan said on Friday.

The clashes, which started in April 15, have shown no sign of letting up in Sudan’s capital despite repeated calls for ceasefire from the international community.

OCHA said an aid worker from the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) was killed two days ago after the “vehicle he was traveling in with his family south of El Obeid, North Kordofan, was caught in a crossfire between warring parties”.

This, it stated, brings to five the total number of aid workers killed since April 15.

The UN humanitarian agency, citing the IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix, also cited an increased in displacement due to fighting and dwindling basic commodities have also been reported across the states of Khartoum, El Gezira, Sennar, White Nile, River Nile and El Gedaref.

Reports estimated that between 7,500 and 8,000 people have been displaced from El Obeid and are currently seeking refuge, following fierce SAF-RSF clashes.

In North Darfur’s capital of El Fasher, an estimated 10,000 to 20,000 displaced people, most of whom were women and children, arrived in Chad on Friday.

South Sudan’s IOM representative in Juba Peter Van Der Auweraert said that at least 2,000 people arrived in the capital today, according multiple media reports.

He, however, said they expect more vulnerable people to come at a later stage, as many of the people who made it to Juba “had the means to make it here”.

Meanwhile following the suspension of humanitarian operations in Sudan due to various aid workers being killed as well as the near-impossible ground situation hindering their activity, local civil society actors have since provided aid.

“Neighbourhood committees in multiple locations have established emergency rooms to provide basic healthcare, given the closure of many hospitals,” noted OCHA in its report.

It further added, “Several committees are also supporting the coordination of civilian evacuations from areas that have been hardest-hit by the conflict.”

Armed clashes between SAF and RSF erupted on April 15 in heavily populated parts of the capital, Khartoum and spread to other cities, including Darfur region. The clashes follow weeks of rising tensions between the two forces over security force reform during negotiations for a new transitional government and was preceded by the SAF and RSF jointly overthrowing Sudan’s transitional government in October 2021.

(ST)