Reuters and Europa Press
La Jornada Newspaper
Sunday, November 17, 2024, p. 17
Cairo., Some 293 children in Sudan have died of hunger between January and October due to the devastating armed conflict between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), authorities reported. Additionally, dozens of displaced residents of the besieged city of al-Hilaliya tested positive for cholera.
The balance has been confirmed by the director of the state nutrition department, Howaida Abdullah Adam, who indicated that 42,200 children have needed urgent treatment due to danger of death with symptoms of starvation during this period.
To try to alleviate this crisis, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has managed to send this week large quantities of high-calorie foods to assist the underage populationthe Sudanese Ministry of Health communicated to the newspaper Darfur 24.
Meanwhile, dozens of residents who fled the besieged city of Al Hilaliya, in the Sudanese state of El Gezira, have tested positive for cholera, a medical source told Reuters, and it is, according to political authorities, the probable explanation for the 400 recent deaths in that area.
The paramilitaries began the siege of the city on October 29, as part of a campaign of attacks in eastern Gezira in revenge for the defection to the army of a senior RSF commander. At least 15 people were shot dead in the raid, according to activists.
However, as reports of mass deaths came to light, rumors circulated that paramilitaries had intentionally poisoned people.
After driving villagers out of their homes, stealing money, livestock and belongings, RSF troops also took away solar panels and electrical cables used to extract groundwater, forcing residents to rely on a traditional shallow well. that had not been used for decades and could have been mixed with sewage, according to doctors and an eyewitness.
This fact explains the increasing number of those infected with cholera, among those who escaped from the city, said a medical source.
Fighting in Sudan broke out in Darfur in April 2023, reigniting traditional historical conflicts between tribes.