The conflict in Sudanhas claimed more than twenty thousand lives, according to Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director General of the World Health Organization.

The war erupted in April 2023 due to tensions between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and has left the country in chaos. Khartoum and other urban areas have been particularly devastated, with infrastructure and healthcare systems collapsing. 

More than 13 million people have been displaced, with over two million fleeing to neighbouring countries.

A United Nations (UN) fact-finding mission reported that both the army and the RSF have committed atrocities amounting to war crimes, including mass rape, ethnic killings, abductions, and arbitrary arrests. Hundreds of rapes have been documented, though the actual figure is likely much higher.

The RSF and its militias have also been accused of recruiting child soldiers. The UN mission has called for the deployment of peacekeepers and the expansion of the existing arms embargo beyond Darfur to cover the entire country. The crisis has been compounded by seasonal floods and a cholera outbreak, worsening the humanitarian disaster.

Despite the mounting evidence, both sides deny responsibility for the humanitarian abuses, and international calls for intervention are intensifying.

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