Sudan disputed a U.N. report saying 70,000 people have died since March

On Friday, the World Health Organization estimated that at least 70,000 people had died in the camps, most because of poor conditions. The number does not include those killed in fighting, including militia and government attacks on villages or on fleeing refugees. Mohammed Yusuf Ibrahim, state minister at the ministry of humanitarian affairs, disputed the estimate. "This report is totally wrong and not correct at all," he told The Associated Press. He said the real number was less than 10 percent that estimated by the U.N. health agency. He cited Sudanese government reports. "The reports we have here speak of the situation for the last 32 weeks and nowhere could we see what they were talking about," he said. He would not elaborate on the government reports or give more specific numbers. Dr. David Nabarro, WHO's head of crisis operations, said Friday that refugees will continue to die unless countries provide more money to help them. [more ]