UN: More than 12,000 Killed in Sudan War

A camp for Sudanese refugees in Chad (Reuters)
A camp for Sudanese refugees in Chad (Reuters)
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UN: More than 12,000 Killed in Sudan War

A camp for Sudanese refugees in Chad (Reuters)
A camp for Sudanese refugees in Chad (Reuters)

The United Nations announced Thursday that more than 12,000 people have been killed since fighting between the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted in mid-April, saying the country is now facing the largest child displacement crisis in the world.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a report that an estimated 6.6 million people have fled their homes, taking refuge inside and outside the country, with children representing about half of the people displaced.
“Sudan is now the country with the largest number of displaced people and the largest child displacement crisis in the world,” it noted.
The report also said that the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project website (ACLED) estimates that more than 12,190 people have been killed since the fighting broke out in April, including 1,300 people who were killed between 28 October and 24 November.
Compared to the previous four weeks, the website recorded a 10 percent decrease in battles and a 38 percent decrease in explosions and remote violence in Sudan.
According to the Humanitarian Aid Commission (HAC), over 700 people detained by RSF, many of whom are children, have yet to be released. The condition of the detainees is reported to be dire.
HAC also noted that between April and 15 October, international humanitarian partners reached about 4.5 million people with life-saving assistance.
Humanitarian organizations operating in Sudan require $2.6 billion to provide life-saving multi-cluster and protection assistance to 18.1 million people in desperate need through the end of this year.
The appeal is only 38.6 percent funded, with $989.3 million received as of 7 December, according to the Financial Tracking Service.
Humanitarian Response
In a related development, head of the Peace Commission and Rapporteur of the Supreme Peace Council, Suleiman Mohamed al-Dabello, said on Thursday that the impact of the war and its effects on the displaced people have put great pressure at the health and educational levels in cities and villages across the country, stressing the need to provide essential services to Sudan.
Speaking at a forum on humanitarian response operations in the city of Port Sudan, al-Dabello stressed the need for strict adherence to the laws and regulations governing humanitarian work among all parties working in this field.
He said the forum reaffirms the government's commitment to all laws and agreements signed with agencies and humanitarian organizations.
Shelling in Khartoum
At the field level, the Sudanese Army and the RSF traded fire in several areas of the capital. Eyewitnesses said they heard the sound of violent and successive artillery shelling in areas located east of Khartoum.
They said the Sudanese army, positioned in the Wadi Seidna military base in north Omdurman, shelled a number of RSF positions in various districts of the city.
Local sources in Khartoum said bombs fell in the Jarif West district of Sudan's capital, destroying a number of houses without causing any casualties. However, they said, the shelling caused panic among citizens.



UN: Nearly 70% of Verified Gaza War Dead Are Women and Children

FILE PHOTO: Palestinians react after a school sheltering displaced people was hit by an Israeli strike, at Beach camp in Gaza City November 7, 2024. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Palestinians react after a school sheltering displaced people was hit by an Israeli strike, at Beach camp in Gaza City November 7, 2024. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa/File Photo
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UN: Nearly 70% of Verified Gaza War Dead Are Women and Children

FILE PHOTO: Palestinians react after a school sheltering displaced people was hit by an Israeli strike, at Beach camp in Gaza City November 7, 2024. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa/File Photo
FILE PHOTO: Palestinians react after a school sheltering displaced people was hit by an Israeli strike, at Beach camp in Gaza City November 7, 2024. REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa/File Photo

The UN Human Rights Office said on Friday nearly 70% of the fatalities it has verified in the Gaza war were women and children, and condemned what it called a systematic violation of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law.
The UN tally since the start of the war, in which Israel's military is fighting Hamas militants, includes only fatalities it has managed to verify with three sources, and counting continues.

The 8,119 victims verified is a much lower number than the toll of over 43,000 provided by Palestinian health authorities for the 13-month-old war. But the UN breakdown of the victims' age and gender backs the Palestinian assertion that women and children represent a large portion of those killed in the war.

This finding indicates "a systematic violation of the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, including distinction and proportionality," the UN rights office said in a statement accompanying the 32-page report.

"It is essential that there is due reckoning with respect to the allegations of serious violations of international law through credible and impartial judicial bodies and that, in the meantime, all relevant information and evidence are collected and preserved," United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said.

The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu did not immediately respond to a request by Reuters for comment on the report's findings.

"Our monitoring indicates that this unprecedented level of killing and injury of civilians is a direct consequence of the failure to comply with fundamental principles of international humanitarian law," Turk said in a statement.

"Tragically, these documented patterns of violations continue unabated, over one year after the start of the war."

His office found that about 80 percent of all the verified deaths in Gaza had occurred in Israeli attacks on residential buildings or similar housing, and that close to 90 percent had died in incidents that killed five or more people.