GENEVA: The United Nations refugee agency has warned that war in Sudan would prompt one million people to flee across its borders is likely to be exceeded.
So far, the war between warring parties in Sudan that began in mid-April has caused about 600,000 people to escape into neighboring nations including Chad, Egypt, Central African Republic and South Sudan. Raouf Mazou, UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Operations, said, “unfortunately, looking at the situation in Darfur, we are likely to go beyond one million,”. The UN estimates over 2.5 million people have been uprooted since April, most within the country. Witnesses said that the latest violence in Darfur has been driven by militias along with members of the RSF engaged in a power struggle with Sudan’s regular army in Khartoum. Mazou said that a lot of women and children were arriving with injuries. The UN official expressed concern over the current situation in the African country. He said that it is very difficult to access refugees in Chad due to the rainy season.
Earlier, Sudan’s RSF paramilitary general has announced a unilateral ceasefire during Eid al Adha. General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, said in an audio message aired on Al Arabiya TV that the ceasefire would be effective from Tuesday to Wednesday. The ongoing conflict in Sudan has severely impacted the country’s healthcare infrastructure, with two-thirds of health facilities in the main battlegrounds remaining out of service, according to the WHO. The few remaining operational hospitals are facing shortages of medical supplies, struggling to obtain fuel for generators, and are understaffed.
The western region of Darfur has witnessed the deadliest violence since the conflict began in mid-April. In Nyala, the capital of South Darfur state, at least a dozen civilians were killed on Sunday, according to a local doctor who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons. Residents reported intense artillery fire overnight, with rockets falling on civilian homes.
As the violence escalates, reports of sexual violence and looting have also increased, and the number of internally displaced people within Sudan has reached approximately two million, with an additional 600,000 individuals seeking refuge across Sudan’s borders, as reported by the International Organization for Migration.
