Sudan death toll far higher than previously reported – study

A new study reveals that the death toll from the civil war in Sudan is far higher than previously reported. Research by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine’s Sudan Research Group estimates over 61,000 deaths in Khartoum state alone since the conflict erupted last year.

Of these, around 26,000 were direct casualties of the violence, while preventable diseases and starvation were the leading causes of death nationwide. The conflict’s impact is particularly severe in Darfur, where reports of atrocities and ethnic cleansing continue to surface.

Aid organisations warn that Sudan faces the world’s most severe humanitarian crisis, with thousands at risk of famine. Until now, the UN and other agencies had cited 20,000 confirmed deaths, but the chaos on the ground has made accurate record-keeping impossible. Meanwhile, Amnesty International reports that French military technology, allegedly in violation of a UN arms embargo, is being used by the UAE-supplied Rapid Support Forces militia fighting in Darfur.

via BBC