A cholera outbreak in Sudan’s war-torn capital has killed 70 people in just two days, health officials said Thursday, as the capital Khartoum faces a growing health crisis after more than two years of brutal conflict.
The Khartoum state health ministry said 942 new cases and 25 deaths were recorded on Wednesday, up from 1,177 cases and 45 deaths on Tuesday, AFP reported.
The surge in infections comes weeks after drone strikes blamed on the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group knocked out water and electricity supplies in the capital.
Khartoum has been the scene of conflict during the two-year war between the Sudanese army and the RSF.
The military-backed government announced last week that it had driven RSF fighters from their last strongholds in Khartoum state, two months after retaking the center of the capital from paramilitary forces.
The city remains devastated, and health and sanitation infrastructure is barely functioning.
Up to 90 percent of hospitals in the main battlegrounds of the conflict have been forced to close due to fighting.
A cholera outbreak has further strained an already strained health system.
The federal ministry of health reported 172 deaths in the week ending Tuesday, 90 percent of which were in Khartoum state.
