Death toll from Sudan fighting climbs to 958: Medics

ISTANBUL

The death toll from the ongoing clashes between Sudan’s army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group has risen to 958, according to local medics on Wednesday.

In a statement, the Sudan Doctors Syndicate said 4,746 civilians have also been injured in the violence.

Earlier estimates had put the death toll from the ongoing military clashes at 866 civilians and 3,721 others injured.

As for the situation in El-Geneina in West Darfur, the NGO said the violence has left many civilians dead, including women and children.

It, however, did not provide any exact death toll in the city.

Sudan has been ravaged by military clashes between the army and the RSF paramilitary group since mid-April.

The UN estimates that over 1 million residents have been displaced and more than 840,000 have sought shelter in rural areas and other states while another 250,000 have crossed Sudanese borders.

Disagreement had been fomenting in recent months between the two sides about integration of the RSF into the armed forces -- a key condition of Sudan's transition agreement with political groups.

Sudan has been without a functioning government since fall 2021, when the military dismissed Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok's transitional government and declared a state of emergency in a move decried by political forces as a "coup."

The transitional period, which started in August 2019 after the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir, had been scheduled to end with elections in early 2024.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar