Sudan’s death toll rises to 528: Health Ministry

By Adel Abdel-Rahim

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) – Sudan’s death toll from the ongoing clashes between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has risen to 528, according to the Health Ministry on Saturday.

A ministry statement said that 4,599 people have also been injured in the violence in the period between April 15 to April 27.

The ministry had earlier put the death toll from the ongoing violence at 512 and 4,193 others injured.

According to the ministry, 12 out of Sudan’s 18 states have seen clashes between the two warring rivals.

Renewed clashes erupted on Saturday between the Sudanese army and RSF fighters despite a 3-day cease-fire.

In a statement, the RSF claimed to have shot down a military aircraft in Omdurman, the twin city of Khartoum.

There was no comment from the Sudanese army on the claim.

Thousands of people, including foreigners, have fled Sudan since the outbreak of violence between the two conflicting rivals on April 15.

A disagreement had been fomenting in recent months between the army and the paramilitaries over military security reform. The reform envisages full RSF participation in the military, one of the main issues in negotiations by international and regional parties for a transition to civilian, democratic rule in Sudan.

Sudan has been without a functioning government since October 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.”

Sudan’s transitional period, which started in August 2019, was scheduled to end with elections in early 2024.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar