Sudan activists appeal for help for orphanage where 54 died

By SAMY MAGDY
Associated Press

CAIRO (AP) — Sudanese activists have taken to social media to appeal for help for a neglected, government-run orphanage in the capital, Khartoum, where local authorities said 54 children have died over the past three months. The high death toll, reported earlier this week, has caused outrage in this African country wracked by turmoil and economic downslide since an October military coup upended its transition to democratic rule. The orphanage in Khartoum had housed more than 320 children, including 80 with disabilities. A government statement had described the children as living in “tragic conditions,” sometimes with up to 26 in a single room. The authorities have not given any cause of death.