The death toll from the war in Sudan could be much higher than reported.

(CLO) According to a new report by researchers in the UK and Sudan, an estimated more than 61,000 people have died in Khartoum state in the first 14 months of the conflict in Sudan, significantly higher than previously reported figures.

This estimated figure includes approximately 26,000 deaths due to violence, higher than the United Nations' calculations.

A preliminary study by the Sudan Research Group at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, published on November 13, shows that famine and disease are becoming the leading causes of death reported across Sudan.

Researchers say the estimated number of deaths from all causes in Khartoum state was 50% higher than the national average before the conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Force broke out in April 2023.

According to the United Nations, the conflict has displaced 11 million people and caused the world's biggest famine crisis. Nearly 25 million people – half Sudan's population – are in need of aid due to famine, with at least one refugee camp already in operation.

But counting the fatalities is a challenge. Even in peacetime, many deaths go unreported. As fighting escalates, many people are isolated from places where deaths are recorded, including hospitals, morgues, and cemeteries. Constant disruptions to the internet and telecommunications leave millions without contact with the outside world.

Lead author Maysoon Dahab, an infectious disease epidemiologist and co-director of the Sudan Research Group, said the team used death data from three independent lists, then reviewed individuals whose names appeared on at least two of them. The less overlap between the lists, the higher the likelihood that the death went unrecorded. The researchers wrote: "Our findings suggest that the vast majority of deaths go undetected."

Graves in a residential area in Omdurman, Sudan. Photo: Reuters

Among the many victims of the war was Khalid Sanhouri, a musician who died in the Mulazmeen neighborhood of Omdurman. His neighbor, Mohammed Omar, said that friends and relatives were unable to take Sanhouri for treatment at the time.

"There are no hospitals or pharmacies where we can buy medicine, not even a market to buy food. So we buried him here," Omar said, pointing to a grave just across the bullet-riddled wall of the musician's house. They couldn't even get to the nearest cemetery.

Residents say hundreds of graves have appeared next to houses throughout Khartoum since last year. With the return of the army to some neighborhoods, they have begun moving the bodies to Omdurman's main cemetery.

Funeral home manager Abdin Khidir said there are up to 50 burials a day there. The cemetery has expanded to include an adjacent football field. However, bodies continue to appear.

The warring parties blamed each other for the rising number of casualties. In September, a UN fact-finding mission said both sides had committed acts that could amount to "war crimes," including attacks on civilians.

The conflict erupted from a power struggle between the Sudanese armed forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) ahead of the planned transition to civilian rule. The RSF quickly seized most of the capital and has now spread across at least half the country, but the army has regained control of some neighborhoods in Omdurman and Bahri in recent months.

Hoai Phuong (according to Reuters)

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/so-nguoi-chet-trong-chien-su-o-sudan-co-the-cao-hon-nhieu-so-lieu-ban-dau-post321477.html