Dozens of residents who escaped the besieged town of Al-Hilaliya in Sudan’s El Gezira state have tested positive for cholera, according to a medical source cited by Reuters, providing a likely explanation for the reported deaths of hundreds.
Local activists report over 300 deaths, while a group of Hilaliya residents in the diaspora provided Reuters with a list of more than 400 fatalities, a number increasing by the hour.
The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces began a siege of the town, home to tens of thousands of locals and displaced people, on Oct. 29 as part of a campaign of attacks in east Gezira in revenge for the defection of a top RSF commander to the army. At least 15 were killed by gunfire in the RSF raid that started the siege, according to activists.
An increasing number of those who have escaped from the town have tested positive for cholera, the medical source said.
Other medics from the town told Reuters that after the soldiers drove people from their homes, stealing money, cars, and livestock, most inhabitants sought refuge in the courtyards of three mosques.
The medics and eyewitnesses asked for anonymity to avoid retribution by either side in the conflict.
