The Director-General of the World Health Organization said that the war in Sudan, which has been going on for more than 16 months, has killed more than 20,000 people, a huge toll amid a conflict that has devastated the country located in northeastern Africa.

Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus announced this toll during a press conference in the city of Port Sudan overlooking the Red Sea, which is the seat of the internationally recognized government supported by the army.

Tedros said the actual death toll could be “much higher.”

At the end of his two-day visit to Sudan, he added, "Sudan is suffering from a stormy crisis. The extent of the destruction is shocking, and the measures taken to reduce the conflict are insufficient."

Sudan descended into chaos in April 2023 when escalating tensions between the army and the Rapid Support Forces exploded, and the two sides entered into open war across the country.

The conflict turned the capital, Khartoum, and other urban areas into battlefields, destroying civilian infrastructure and an already dilapidated healthcare system.

Many hospitals and medical facilities also closed their doors.

"The largest displacement crisis in the world"

The conflict in Sudan has created what experts describe as “the largest displacement crisis in the world.”

The International Organization for Migration says that more than 13 million people have been forced to flee their homes since the beginning of the conflict, including more than 2.3 million who fled to neighboring countries and became refugees.

The United Nations and international human rights organizations said that the fighting witnessed both sides committing atrocities that included mass rapes and ethnically motivated killings, amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

UN-backed investigators on Friday called for the formation of an "independent and impartial force" to protect civilians, accusing both sides of war crimes including murder, mutilation and torture.

Devastating seasonal floods in recent weeks have exacerbated the crisis, killing dozens of people and sweeping away vital infrastructure in 12 of Sudan's 18 governorates.

The cholera outbreak also became the latest disaster in Sudan.

The Sudanese Ministry of Health said on Friday that the epidemic has killed at least 165 people and infected about 4,200 others in recent weeks.

Tedros said, “We call on the countries of the world to wake up and help Sudan get out of the nightmare it is experiencing. An immediate ceasefire is urgently needed. The best solution to the crisis is peace.”