Over 400 killed, 3,700 injured in Sudan hostilities
Tens of thousands have fled their homes, Antonio Guterres said.
At least 400 people have been killed and over 3,700 injured in the clashes that broke out between the Rapid Support Forces and the armed forces of Sudan earlier this month, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres told a UN Security Council meeting on the issue.
“At least 400 people have been killed – including four members of the United Nations family. More than 3700 people have been injured, and tens of thousands have fled their homes,” he said.
The situation in Sudan escalated amid disagreements between the army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, who also heads the ruling Sovereignty Council, and the head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (known as Hemedti), who is al-Burhan’s deputy on the council.
The main points of contention between the two military organizations are related to the timeline and methods of forming a unified armed forces of Sudan, as well as who should become the commander-in-chief of the army: a career military officer, which is the option supported by al-Burhan, or an elected civilian president, as Dagalo insists.
On April 15, clashes between the two structures erupted near a military base in Merowe and in the capital, Khartoum and continued on Tuesday despite an earlier ceasefire. According to the country’s health ministry, more than 600 people have been killed in the country since the conflict broke out.
