KHARTOUM, Sudan (AP) — The number of internally displaced people in Sudan has surpassed 10 million, the United Nations migration agency reported on Monday.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) stated that this figure includes 2.83 million people displaced before the current conflict due to various local clashes in recent years.
An additional 2 million people have fled abroad, primarily to neighboring Chad, South Sudan, and Egypt, according to Mohammedali Abunajela, an IOM spokesperson.
Sudan’s conflict erupted in April last year when rising tensions between army leaders and the powerful Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group led to open fighting in Khartoum and other parts of the country.
“Imagine a city the size of London being displaced. That’s what it looks like, but it’s happening amid constant crossfire, famine, disease, and brutal ethnic and gender-based violence,” said IOM Director General Amy Pope in a statement.
Last month, the United Nations World Food Programme warned the warring factions of a severe risk of widespread famine and death in Darfur and other regions if they did not allow the delivery of humanitarian aid.
Pope called for a unified international response to avert “imminent famine” in Sudan, where humanitarian needs are “massive, acute, and immediate.” She noted that less than a fifth of the funds requested by IOM for this response have been provided.
The war has devastated Sudan, killing more than 14,000 people and injuring thousands more, pushing the population to the brink of famine.
The number of refugees and internally displaced people means that over a quarter of Sudan’s 47 million people have been driven from their homes.
