UN: Sudan's War Has Killed at Least 20,000 People

Sudanese refugees gather to fill cans with water from a water point in the Farchana refugee camp, on April 8, 2024. (Photo by Joris Bolomey / AFP)
Sudanese refugees gather to fill cans with water from a water point in the Farchana refugee camp, on April 8, 2024. (Photo by Joris Bolomey / AFP)
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UN: Sudan's War Has Killed at Least 20,000 People

Sudanese refugees gather to fill cans with water from a water point in the Farchana refugee camp, on April 8, 2024. (Photo by Joris Bolomey / AFP)
Sudanese refugees gather to fill cans with water from a water point in the Farchana refugee camp, on April 8, 2024. (Photo by Joris Bolomey / AFP)

More than 16 months of war in Sudan has killed more than 20,000 people, a senior United Nations official said Sunday, a grim figure amid a devastating conflict that has wrecked the northeastern African country.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, gave the tally at a news conference in Sudan’s Red Sea city of Port Sudan, which serves as the seat of the internationally recognized, military-backed government, The AP reported. He said the death toll could be much higher.

“Sudan is suffering through a perfect storm of crisis,” Tedros said as he wrapped up his two-day visit to Sudan. “The scale of the emergency is shocking, as is the insufficient action being taken to curtail the conflict.”

Sudan was plunged into chaos in April last year when simmering tensions between the military and the Rapid Support Forces, exploded into open warfare across the country.

The conflict has turned the capital, Khartoum, and other urban areas into battlefields, wrecking civilian infrastructure and an already battered health care system. Without the basics, many hospitals and medical facilities have closed their doors.

The conflict has created the world’s largest displacement crisis. More than 13 million people have been forced to flee their homes since fighting began, according to the International Organization for Migration. They include over 2.3 million who have fled to neighboring countries as refugees.

The fighting has been marked by atrocities including mass rape and ethnically motivated killings that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to the UN and international rights groups.

On Friday, UN-backed human rights investigators urged the creation of an “independent and impartial force” to protect civilians, blaming both sides for war crimes including murder, mutilation and torture.

Devastating seasonal floods in recent weeks have compounded the misery. Dozens of people have been killed and critical infrastructure has been washed away in 12 of Sudan’s 18 provinces, according to local authorities.

A cholera outbreak is the latest calamity for the country. The disease has killed at least 165 and sickened about 4,200 others in recent weeks, the health ministry said in its latest update on Friday.

“We are calling on the world to wake up and help Sudan out of the nightmare it’s living through,” Tedros said, adding that an immediate cease-fire is urgently required.

“The best medicine is peace,” he added.



With Hospitals Full in Lebanon, Family Flees to Give Birth in Iraq

Lubana Ismail, a displaced Lebanese woman who fled from her home in Tyre due to Israeli bombardments in Southern Lebanon, holds her newborn baby girl, Zahraa, to whom she gave birth in Iraq, as she sits with her family at a hotel in Najaf, Iraq, October 7, 2024. (Reuters)
Lubana Ismail, a displaced Lebanese woman who fled from her home in Tyre due to Israeli bombardments in Southern Lebanon, holds her newborn baby girl, Zahraa, to whom she gave birth in Iraq, as she sits with her family at a hotel in Najaf, Iraq, October 7, 2024. (Reuters)
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With Hospitals Full in Lebanon, Family Flees to Give Birth in Iraq

Lubana Ismail, a displaced Lebanese woman who fled from her home in Tyre due to Israeli bombardments in Southern Lebanon, holds her newborn baby girl, Zahraa, to whom she gave birth in Iraq, as she sits with her family at a hotel in Najaf, Iraq, October 7, 2024. (Reuters)
Lubana Ismail, a displaced Lebanese woman who fled from her home in Tyre due to Israeli bombardments in Southern Lebanon, holds her newborn baby girl, Zahraa, to whom she gave birth in Iraq, as she sits with her family at a hotel in Najaf, Iraq, October 7, 2024. (Reuters)

Lubana Ismail had just fled her village in southern Lebanon with her husband and two children when she went into labor. She had swollen veins in her uterus and needed immediate medical supervision to give birth safely.

They searched for a hospital in Beirut or Sidon that would admit her, but all were full of the dead and wounded.

"No hospital accepted me. We were turned away everywhere until my father suggested we go to Iraq," she recounted.

So they boarded a flight and flew to Najaf. It was there, in a former war zone 1,000 km (600 miles) from home, that Lubana finally gave birth to baby Zahraa, healthy and safe.

The proud father, Fouad Youssef, recounted the perils of their evacuation.

"At first, we went to Tyre, but a strike hit directly next to us. We decided to go to Beirut, thinking it would be safer, but even on the way, a strike hit near us,” he said.

"During our two days of displacement, I tried to get my wife into a hospital because her labor was difficult. But due to the high number of injuries and martyrs, there were no vacancies."

More than a million Lebanese have fled their homes since Israel intensified its airstrikes and launched a ground campaign in southern Lebanon against the Hezbollah movement which has been striking Israel in solidarity with the Palestinians.

Imran Riza, UN humanitarian coordinator, said the pace of displacement since Sept. 23 had exceeded worst case scenarios, and too much damage was being done to civilian infrastructure.

Najaf is accustomed to handling the emergency medical needs of foreigners, and Iraqis have endured almost two decades of war at home. But receiving refugees from Lebanon is unexpected. Iraq's interior ministry says around 5,700 Lebanese have arrived so far.

Lubana and Fouad are grateful to have found a safe place to bring their family and give birth to their daughter. But they have no idea what will come next.

"We are afraid the war will go on for a long time. What will happen to our children? We were preparing them for school, but now there is no education. Are we going to stay here? Are we leaving? Are we going back to our country?" pondered Youssef, watching news of the destruction in Lebanon on his mobile screen.