More than 12,000 killed in Sudanese conflict: UN

By Adel Abdel-Rahim

KHARTOUM, Sudan (AA) – More than 12,000 people have been killed in war-torn Sudan since April, the UN humanitarian affairs office said on Thursday.

The deaths include "1,300 people who were killed between 28 October and 24 November," the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said in a statement.

The conflict has caused an estimated 6.6 million Sudanese to flee their homes, with children representing about half of the displaced people in the country, the UN office said.

"Sudan is now the country with the largest number of displaced people and the largest child displacement crisis in the world,” it added.

Sudan has been mired by fighting between the army, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, head of the country’s ruling Sovereign Council, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April.

Several cease-fire agreements brokered by Saudi and US mediators have failed to end the violence.

*Writing by Ahmed Asmar