More than 3 Million have Fled Sudan Unrest

By Staff, Agencies

The United Nations announced that more than 3 million people have fled their homes in Sudan ever since the conflict between rival armed forces broke out nearly three months ago.

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.

Figures from the UN’s International Organization for Migration [IOM] showed that over 2.4 million people were now displaced within Sudan, while nearly 724,000 have escaped across the country’s borders. Around 3,000 people have also been killed in the violence, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project.

“We have surpassed the 3 million figures of people displaced due to the conflict in Sudan,” IOM spokeswoman Safa Msehli said. “This is more than a figure… 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.”

Msehli urged “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.