The Sudanese Ministry of Health announced that the victims of clashes between the army and the Rapid Support Forces rose to 512 dead and 4193,<> injured, while the World Health Organization predicted more deaths due to the lack of health services.

The Health Ministry said it had contacted leaders of both sides of the conflict and asked them to stay away from health facilities to facilitate the movement of doctors and ambulance teams.

For its part, the Sudanese Medical Syndicate said that military forces have attacked six ambulances since the start of the battles between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, preventing them from transporting patients and delivering aid.

The syndicate added that the continuous clashes for the 12th consecutive day resulted in more victims, noting that the outcome of the 11th day of the confrontations is 4 civilians killed, and 91 wounded, a number of them seriously.

The syndicate confirmed that there are many dead and wounded who are not included in these figures, and that it was unable to reach hospitals due to the difficulty of movement and the security situation in the country.

International concern

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus predicted more deaths in Sudan due to disease outbreaks and lack of essential services amid heavy fighting.

"In addition to the deaths and injuries caused by the conflict itself, WHO expects many more deaths due to disease outbreaks, food and water shortages, and disruption of essential health services, including vaccination," Ghebreyesus told a news conference.

The UN official pointed out that 60% of health facilities in Khartoum are closed, and that only 16% of these health facilities provide services to the Sudanese.

"The World Health Organization estimates that a quarter of the lives lost so far could have been saved mainly by controlling the bleeding, but paramedics, nursing staff and doctors are unable to reach wounded civilians and civilians are unable to access services," he said.

WHO conducts a risk assessment to determine whether the seizure of a laboratory in Khartoum poses a public health risk as it is a place where pathogens are available.

Mike Ryan, director of WHO's Health Emergencies Programme, said: "When lab staff are forced to leave and untrained people enter that lab there is always a risk, but the risk is primarily for these individuals first and foremost to accidentally expose themselves to pathogens.

But he added that the lack of clean water and vaccines, along with other sanitation problems, was the main risk for Sudanese.