DUBAI/CAIRO (Reuters) – Sudan’s interior ministry said on Tuesday at least 68 people had died from heavier-than-usual rains, adding to the suffering of the war-torn country.
There are no signs yet of abating the conflict between Sudan’s military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), despite talks that began over the weekend. The conflict has created the world’s largest displacement crisis and left half the population hungry.
Administrative hurdles, security challenges and funding shortfalls have made aid delivery in many parts of the country difficult, if not impossible.
The heaviest rains since 2019 have hit western, northern and eastern Sudan, with 10.7 million people displaced to seek shelter either in camps, homes, schools or stranded in the open.
Among the affected areas are the famine-ravaged Zamzam camp in North Darfur, which is home to 500,000 people, and the eastern states of Kassala and Gedarif, where hundreds of thousands have fled the RSF advance.
Reports from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said more than 44,000 people had been displaced by the rains since June 1, June across Sudan.
“Families are losing what little is left, and water is washing away critical infrastructure, hindering humanitarian access,” said IOM chief of mission Mohamed Rifaat in Sudan on Tuesday, adding that a total of 73,000 people in 11 of Sudan’s 18 states had been affected by the rains.
The Interior Ministry said 12,000 houses had completely or partially collapsed due to the rains, and nearly 198,000 acres of farmland had been damaged, but the figures only pertain to military-controlled areas in northern and eastern Sudan.
