UN official says Sudan's war has killed at least 20,000 people

CAIRO -- More than 16 months of war in Sudan has killed more than 20,000 people, a senior United Nations official said Sunday, a grim figure amid a devastating conflict that has wrecked the northeastern African country.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director general of the World Health Organization, gave the tally at a news conference in Sudan’s Red Sea city of Port Sudan, which serves as the seat of the internationally recognized, military-backed government. He said the death toll could be much higher.

“Sudan is suffering through a perfect storm of crisis,” Tedros said as he wrapped up his two-day visit to Sudan. “The scale of the emergency is shocking, as is the insufficient action being taken to curtail the conflict.”

Sudan was plunged into chaos in April last year when simmering tensions between the military and a powerful paramilitary group, the Rapid Support Forces, exploded into open warfare across the country.

The conflict has turned the capital, Khartoum, and other urban areas into battlefields, wrecking civilian infrastructure and an already battered health care system. Without the basics, many hospitals and medical facilities have closed their doors.

The conflict has created the world’s largest displacement crisis. More than 13 million people have been forced to flee their homes since fighting began, according to the International Organization for Migration. They include over 2.3 million who have fled to neighboring countries as refugees.

The fighting has been marked by atrocities including mass rape and ethnically motivated killings that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to the U.N. and international rights groups.

On Friday, U.N.-backed human rights investigators urged the creation of an “independent and impartial force” to protect civilians, blaming both sides for war crimes including murder, mutilation and torture.

Devastating seasonal floods in recent weeks have compounded the misery. Dozens of people have been killed and critical infrastructure has been washed away in 12 of Sudan’s 18 provinces, according to local authorities.

A cholera outbreak is the latest calamity for the country. The disease has killed at least 165 and sickened about 4,200 others in recent weeks, the health ministry said in its latest update on Friday.

“We are calling on the world to wake up and help Sudan out of the nightmare it’s living through,” Tedros said, adding that an immediate cease-fire is urgently required.

“The best medicine is peace,” he added.