Death toll rises to 528 as ex-Sudan PM warns of 'nightmare for world'

Sudan's death toll from the ongoing clashes between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces [RSF] has risen to 528, according to the Health Ministry, as ex-premier Abdalla Hamdok warned an all-out civil war in the North African country would have serious global ramifications.

A ministry statement on Saturday said that 4,599 people have also been wounded in the violence that began on April 15.

The ministry had earlier put the death toll from the ongoing violence at 512 and 4,193 others wounded.

According to the ministry, 12 out of Sudan's 18 states have seen clashes between the two warring rivals.

About 75,000 people have been displaced by the fighting in capital Khartoum as well as in the states of Blue Nile and North Kordofan, as well as the western region of Darfur, according to the UN.

Renewed clashes erupted on Saturday between the Sudanese army and RSF fighters despite a three-day ceasefire.

In a statement, the RSF claimed to have shot down a military aircraft in Omdurman, the twin city of Khartoum.

There was no comment from the Sudanese army on the claim.

Thousands of people, including foreigners, have fled Sudan since the outbreak of violence between the two conflicting rivals.

A disagreement had been fomenting in recent months between the army and the paramilitaries over military security reform.

The reform envisages full RSF participation in the military, one of the main issues in negotiations by international and regional parties for a transition to civilian, democratic rule in Sudan.

Civil war 'nightmare'

Sudan has been without a functioning government since October 2021, when the military dismissed then PM Abdalla Hamdok's transitional government and declared a state of emergency in a move decried by political forces as a "coup."

Hamdok warned that the conflict in the turbulent African nation could deteriorate to one of the world's worst civil wars if not stopped early.

"God forbid if Sudan is to reach a point of civil war proper... Syria, Yemen, Libya will be a small play," Hamdok said in a conversation with Sudan-born telecoms tycoon Mo Ibrahim at an event in Nairobi.

"I think it would be a nightmare for the world," he said, adding that it would have many ramifications.

"This is not a war between an army and small rebellion. It is almost like two armies — well trained and well armed," he said, adding the current conflict was a "senseless war".

"There is nobody who is going to come out of this victorious."

Sudan’s transitional period, which started in August 2019, was scheduled to end with elections in early 2024.