The Sudan Doctors Syndicate announced on Saturday that the number of civilian casualties in the clashes between the army and the "rapid support" forces has risen to 479 dead and 2,518 wounded.
The last toll announced by the (non-governmental) Medical Syndicate on Friday recorded 473 dead and 2,454 civilians injured.
The union said in a statement: "The number of civilian deaths since the beginning of the clashes has risen to 479 deaths and 2,518 injuries," from April 15 to May 5.
The union pointed out that "clashes are still taking place between the armed forces and the Rapid Support Forces for the twenty-first day in a row."
And she stated that "there are many injuries and deaths that are not included in this inventory, and she was unable to reach hospitals due to the difficulty of movement and the security situation in the country."
The clashes caused many hospitals to be out of service, and many other services, including communications and electricity, were disrupted.
Talks about a new truce
On the night of Friday-Saturday, the United States and Saudi Arabia announced in a joint statement "the start of preliminary talks" in Jeddah between representatives of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces.
The two countries urged both sides of the Sudanese conflict to "seriously engage" in these talks until a "ceasefire and end to the conflict" is reached.
The Sudanese army confirmed in a statement that these talks would deal with "details of the truce," which was renewed more than once, but was never committed.
For his part, the commander of the Rapid Support Forces, Lieutenant General Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo (Hamedti), thanked Saudi Arabia for hosting these talks, while the former Sudanese minister, Khaled Omar Youssef, hoped for a "comprehensive political solution."
These talks come after a number of African regional initiatives initiated, especially by East African countries, through the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD).
The ghost of hunger
As the fighting continues, the World Food Program fears that 19 million people will suffer from hunger and malnutrition in the coming months in Sudan due to the conflict between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, according to a United Nations spokesman Friday.
Farhan Haq, deputy spokesman for the UN Secretary-General, said that the WFP "expects that the number of people suffering from severe food insecurity in Sudan will increase to between 2 and 2.5 million."
"In May 2023, taking into account the current conflict we can estimate that the total number (of these people) will rise to 19 million in the period between the next three to six months if the conflict continues," he added.
According to the Food Program report in early 2023, 16.8 million Sudanese out of a total population estimated at 45 million were suffering from severe food insecurity, an increase of one million people from the previous year.
Sudan: 10,000 people have fled to the Central African Republic
About 9,700 people have crossed the border into the Central African Republic from neighboring Sudan, where battles between the army and paramilitaries for power have been raging for 21 days, the UN Humanitarian Coordination Office (OCHA) said on Friday. Central African Republic.
Some "9,700 people, including 3,460 Central African returnees, have preemptively crossed the border from Sudan and are staying with host families or settled in spontaneous camps", in the town of Am-Dafock, bordering Sudan in the north. Central African Republic, their number should increase as registration continues, OCHA said in a statement sent to AFP on Friday.
The organization also indicates that senior humanitarian and government officials have traveled to Am-Dafock to assess the situation in this flood-prone area, access to which is expected to be very limited after the start of the rainy season (late May). ), worries OCHA.
The UN recalls that in the Central African Republic 3.4 million people, or 56% of the population, need assistance and protection. In the north of this country, one of the poorest in the world and in the throes of a civil war for several years, 120,000 people need food assistance, the organization specifies.
On the 21st day of conflict in Sudan, residents of the capital Khartoum were awakened by airstrikes and machine gun fire, despite promises of a truce. The fighting between the army led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane, and the Rapid Support Forces (FSR) of General Mohamed Hamdane Daglo, have since April 15 killed around 700 people, according to the NGO ACLED which lists the victims. of conflicts.
The fighting has left more than 5,000 injured, displaced at least 335,000 people and pushed 115,000 others into exile, according to the UN, which is asking for 402 million euros to help the country, one of the poorest. in the world.
The UN warns that 860,000 people, Sudanese but also many South Sudanese returning to their country, could cross the borders in the coming months.
More than 56,000 people have arrived in Egypt, according to the UN, more than 12,000 in Ethiopia and 30,000 in Chad.
The Arab Parliament welcomes the initiative of Riyadh and Washington to start the Sudanese talks in Jeddah
The Speaker of the Arab Parliament, Adel bin Abdul Rahman Al-Assoumi, announced his welcome to the initiative of Saudi Arabia and the United States for the talks between representatives of the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, which were held in the city of Jeddah.
In a press statement, Al-Assoumi expressed his hope that this initiative would be "a positive step on the road to a political solution to the Sudanese crisis, bridging the rift between the two parties, stopping the bloodshed, and returning the Sudanese state to the path of security and stability."
The Speaker of the Arab Parliament also stressed that "Sudan's security is an integral part of Arab national security."
In addition, the Speaker of the Arab Parliament praised the constructive efforts made by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia since the beginning of the crisis, along with all Arab efforts made to stand by the brotherly Sudanese people and contribute actively to preserving the cohesion of the state, evacuating nationals and delivering humanitarian aid.
Tunisia Preventing a leader of the "Ennahda" movement from traveling
Radio Mosaique reported that the border police at Tunis-Carthage airport prevented, on Saturday morning, the leader of the "Ennahda" movement, Sahbi Ateeq, from traveling.
Mosaic stated that Ateeq was informed that he was being searched by a specialized security team for a published case against him.
She indicated that he was handed over to the agents of the squad, the source of the inspection, pending the consultation of the Public Prosecution Office about the legal action that will be taken against him.
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