The United Nations revealed on Monday that over 13 million people have been displaced due to the ongoing conflict between the national army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces as Sudan’s brutal civil war enters its third year.
UNHCR representative Abdourahouf Gnon-Konde, in an interview with AFP, shared the staggering toll of the war.
“The conflict has provoked the displacement of 13 million people, including 8.6 internally displaced people and 3.8 million refugees,” he said.
Fighting initially erupted on April 15, 2023, and since then, tens of thousands have lost their lives. The country is now facing famine, widespread destruction, and deep fragmentation as rival factions carve out territories under their control.
The latest offensive highlights the deteriorating situation in Darfur, particularly in El-Fasher, the last major city in the region still held by government forces.
Last week, the RSF launched an aggressive push to seize the city, leading to days of violence from Thursday to Sunday. Civilians sheltering in displacement camps such as Zamzam and Abou Shouk were caught in the crossfire, both of which are already suffering from famine conditions.
According to the UN, “credible sources” have reported that over 400 people were killed in the recent attacks. The RSF has since claimed to have taken over Zamzam, triggering a new wave of displacement. The UN’s International Organization for Migration estimates that approximately 400,000 people have fled the camp in the aftermath.
Doctors Without Borders reported that around 10,000 civilians, mostly women and children, managed to escape to Tawila, nearly 70 kilometers west of El-Fasher, within just two days.
“In an advanced state of dehydration and exhaustion and reporting horrific violence,” the international aid group described the fleeing population.
The RSF intensified its campaign in El-Fasher shortly after the national army recaptured Khartoum, situated about 1,000 kilometers to the east, last month. The conflict has effectively split Sudan in two, with the army controlling the north and east, while the RSF and its affiliates hold sway over much of Darfur and parts of the southern region.
Germany’s Foreign Minister, Annalena Baerbock, underscored the scale of the crisis, calling it, “the greatest humanitarian catastrophe of our time,” and lamented the devastation, hunger, and rampant sexual violence plaguing the country.
“Entire regions have been destroyed, hundreds of thousands of families are fleeing, millions of people are starving, and women and children are being subjected to the most horrific sexual violence,” she added.
Her statement comes ahead of a high-level international meeting in London on Tuesday aimed at addressing the deepening crisis.
Meanwhile, Mirjana Spoljaric, head of the International Committee of the Red Cross, painted a grim picture of civilian life in Sudan.
“Trapped in a relentless nightmare of death and destruction,” she said, describing the dire conditions after two years of conflict.
Adding to global concerns, the UN Fact-Finding Mission issued a stark warning, stating that, “the darkest chapters of this conflict have yet to unfold,” as ethnic tensions and retaliatory attacks intensify across the nation.
Reflecting on the war’s grim anniversary, Mohamed Chande Othman, chair of the mission, called for remembrance and urgent action.
“As Sudan enters into its third year of conflict, we must reflect on the catastrophic situation in Sudan and honour the lives of all Sudanese who have been lost or changed forever,” he said.
