Sudan continues to spiral into chaos: UN agency

KHARTOUM - The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Monday said Sudan continues to spiral into chaos, with the humanitarian crisis worsening.

"The lives of 800,000 people -- of women, children, men, the elderly and people with disabilities -- are hanging in the balance as bombing and shelling continue in densely populated areas, causing widespread and long-term harm to civilians and severely disrupting the essential services they very much depend on," the OCHA said in its latest update on Monday.

Over the past three months, it noted, up to 143,000 people may have been displaced from Al Fasher, the capital city of Sudan's North Darfur State due to clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The intensifying fighting in and around Al Fasher has claimed over 300 lives, according to Ibrahim Abdullah Khatir, director-general of North Darfur State's Health Ministry.

Sudan has been witnessing deadly clashes between the SAF and the RSF since April 15, 2023. The conflicts have so far claimed more than 15,550 lives and displaced over 8.8 million people nationwide, according to recent estimates by the OCHA.