More than 3 million people have now fled their homes in Sudan due to the nearly three-month-old conflict between rival armed forces, the United Nations said Wednesday.
Figures from the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) showed that more than 2.4 million people were now displaced within Sudan, while nearly 724,000 have escaped across the country’s borders.
The fighting in Sudan broke out on April 15. The army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, has been battling the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces commanded by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, after the two fell out in a power struggle.
“We have surpassed the 3 million figure of people displaced due to the conflict in Sudan,” IOM spokeswoman Safa Msehli told AFP.
“This is more than a figure, however: these are people who have been uprooted, fleeing for their lives; families that have been separated, and children that won’t be able to go to school.
“We simply cannot turn away from Sudan. An immediate cessation of hostilities is urgently needed.
“We need the international community’s sustained support to provide aid and protection to those affected by the conflict.”
The number of people who have sought refuge outside Sudan is likely to be even higher than the IOM’s figure as the number of individual arrivals it gives for Egypt — nearly 256,000 — cites Egyptian foreign ministry figures from June 18.
Around 3,000 people have been killed in the violence, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project.
