A LEADING aid group said on Tuesday that about 500 children have died from hunger in Sudan since fighting broke out in the East African country in April.

Save the Children said that the number of dead also included two dozen babies who perished in a government-run orphanage in the capital of Khartoum.

It said that at least 31,000 children lack access to treatment for malnutrition and related illnesses since the charity was forced to close 57 nutrition centres in Sudan.

Sudan was plunged into chaos after deadly fighting broke out on April 15 between the country’s military and the Rapid Support Force, leaving Khartoum and other urban areas as battlefields and many residents left without basics such as water and electricity, and a collapsed healthcare system.

Save the Children director for Sudan Arif Noor said: “Never did we think we would see children dying from hunger in such numbers, but this is now the reality in Sudan.

“We are seeing children dying from entirely preventable hunger.”

The violence in Sudan is estimated to have killed at least 4,000 people, according to United Nations human rights office spokeswoman Liz Throssell, but activists and doctors on the ground say that the death toll is likely to be far higher.

UN East Africa regional refugee chief and co-ordinator for Sudan Mamadou Dian Balde told a press conference that 947,000 people have fled Sudan and more than 3.6 million Sudanese have been displaced within the country.

Save the Children said that between May and July, at least 316 children, mostly under five years of age, died of malnutrition or associated illnesses in the southern White Nile province. 

More than 2,400 more children have been recorded as being admitted to hospital suffering from severe acute malnutrition.

In the eastern Qadarif province, at least 132 children died from malnutrition in the government-run children’s hospital between April and July.

Save the Children also said at least 50 children, including two dozen babies, died of starvation or related illnesses in an orphanage in Khartoum in the first six weeks of the conflict as they were refused access to provide assistance.

It also warned that special food supplies for treating malnutrition were running critically low at 108 facilities it still operates across Sudan.

Meanwhile, clashes have raged this week around a military camp south of Khartoum as the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces have attempted to seize the crucial facility, both warring sides have reported.