The number of people dying because of the civil war in Sudan is significantly higher than previously reported, according to a new study.More than 61,000 people have died in Khartoum state, where the fighting began last year, according to a report by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine’s Sudan Research Group.Of these, 26,000 people were killed as a direct result of the violence, it said, noting that the leading cause of death across the Sudan was preventable disease and starvation.Many more people have died elsewhere in the country, especially in the western region of Darfur, where there have been numerous reports of atrocities and ethnic cleansing.Aid workers say the conflict in Sudan has created the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with many thousands at risk of famine.Until now, the UN and other aid agencies have been using the figure of 20,000 confirmed deaths. Because of the fighting and chaos in the country, there has been no systematic recording of the number of people killed.The study comes as a rights group says French military technology is being used in the conflict, in violation of a UN arms embargo.Amnesty International on Thursday said the Rapid Support Forces militia, which is battling the army, was using vehicles in Darfur supplied by the United Arab Emirates that are fitted with French hardware.”Our research shows that weaponry designed and manufactured in France is in active use on the battlefield in Sudan,” said Amnesty’s Secretary General Agnès Callamard.The BBC has asked for comment from France and the UAE, which has previously denied arming the RSF.The Ga …
