Over 1.4 million People Displaced Since Sudan War Erupted -UN

SUDAN May 28 -At least 1.4 million people have been displaced in Sudan since armed clashes erupted between rival forces on April 15, 2023.

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on May 28 said the affected persons, displaced by the violence, had left their homes, belongings, and everything behind in search of safety.

“The number of newly internally displaced people in just over five weeks (15 April to 23 May) is comparable to that recorded for all displacement in the country from 2020 to 2022,” UN said.

On April 15, armed clashes erupted between the Sudanese Army Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in multiple cities across Sudan including Khartoum, Al Fasher, Merowe, Nyala, Ag Geneina, and El Obeid.

The fighting has continued despite the agreement for a seven-day ceasefire that started on May 22, brokered by Saudi Arabia and the US.

Since the onset of the violence, the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM)’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) has been collecting data on internal displacement through a network of enumerators and key informants across the country.

The new outbreak of violence has forced a fresh wave of people to leave their homes, either moving elsewhere in Sudan or crossing into neighboring countries.

The UN said the situation is exacerbated by the fact that Sudan had several million people internally displaced due to years of political instability.

The DTM IDP baseline data collected in March 2023 that showed a total of 3.8 million IDPs across the country

As of May 26, a further 345,000 had fled Sudan into neighboring countries including Egypt, Chad and Ethiopia, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

The UN Population Fund has also revealed that amid the vast displacement, there have been increasing reports of gender-based violence and domestic violence, especially among internally displaced Sudanese populations.

Since the war erupted at least 730 people have been killed and about 5,500 others wounded as of May 23, according to Sudan’s Federal Ministry of Health. Among those killed are eight humanitarian workers and eight health workers.

Thousands of foreign nationals have also escaped the country as Western and regional powers stepped in to evacuate their own citizens.