THE United Nations health agency said today that there have been fresh outbreaks of cholera and dengue fever reported in eastern Sudan.

Thousands of people are sheltering in the area as the deadly fighting between the country’s military and a rival paramilitary force grinds on without any prospects for peace.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) says that there have been 162 suspected cholera cases admitted to hospitals in the province of Qadarif and other areas along the border with Ethiopia. 

Eighty cases have been confirmed and 10 people have died of cholera, a bacterial infection linked to contaminated food or water, the WHO said.

Sudan was engulfed in chaos in mid-April, when simmering tensions between the military and a powerful paramilitary group exploded into open warfare.

The WHO said that more than 500 suspected cases of dengue were reported across Sudan, most of them in urban centres in Qadarif.

Dengue is caused by the dengue virus transmitted to humans through the bite of infected mosquitoes.

The Sudanese doctors union said “hundreds” of dengue patients have died in the east of the country, describing the outbreak as “a health crisis.”

According to the UN, at least 5,000 people have been killed and more than 12,000 others wounded during the conflict.