Approximately 25 individuals, predominantly women and children, have perished in a boat accident while attempting to escape the ongoing conflict between the Sudanese army and paramilitary forces in the southeast of Sudan, according to a statement from a pro-democracy activists' committee on Thursday.
The local resistance committee in Sennar reported that the tragedy occurred as the boat sank while crossing the Blue Nile River. This committee, along with hundreds of others across Sudan, has been organizing pro-democracy protests and coordinating frontline aid since the war between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commenced last year.
The committee highlighted that 'entire families perished' in the incident while trying to escape the RSF's recent advances through Sennar. On Saturday, the RSF declared the capture of the military base in Sinja, the capital of Sennar state, where over half a million people had sought refuge from the war.
Witnesses also noted the RSF's aggressive actions in neighboring villages, forcing residents to flee across the Nile in small wooden boats. The United Nations reported that at least 55,000 people fled Sinja within a three-day period. Local authorities in neighboring Gedaref state estimated that around 120,000 displaced individuals had arrived this week, with 90,000 officially registered by the state's health minister, Ahmed Al Amin Adam.
Currently, over 10 million people are displaced across Sudan, a crisis deemed the world's worst by the UN. Sudan has been embroiled in war since April 2023, when clashes broke out between forces loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah Al Burhan and the RSF, led by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. The conflict has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths, with some estimates suggesting the death toll could be as high as 150,000, according to the United States envoy to Sudan, Tom Perriello.
