One year after the start of the war in Sudan, thousands continue to flee

Photo: Ebrahim Hamid Agence France-Presse People displaced by the ongoing conflict in Sudan break their fast together during the month of Ramadan at Huri camp.

France Media Agency in Geneva

April 9, 2024

• Africa

A year after the start of the war in Sudan, thousands of people continue to desperately flee the country every day “as if the emergency began yesterday”, the UN warned on Tuesday.

The war in Sudan has forced approximately 1.8 million people to leave the country and left 6.7 million internally displaced.

“One year later, the war in Sudan continues to rage, and the country and its neighbors are experiencing one of the largest and most challenging humanitarian and displacement crises in the world,” said spokesperson Olga Sarrado Mur. from the United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR).

“The ongoing conflict has shattered people's lives, causing them to experience fear and loss. Attacks on civilians and conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence continue unabated,” she added at a press conference in Geneva.

“Sudan has seen the near-total destruction of its urban middle class: architects, doctors, teachers, nurses, engineers and students have lost everything,” she continued.

War in Sudan broke out on April 15, 2023 between forces loyal to army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhane and those of Mohamed Hamdane Daglo, his former deputy and commander of the rapid support paramilitary forces.

The conflict has left thousands dead and caused a humanitarian catastrophe.

“Thousands of people cross borders every day, as if the emergency situation had started yesterday,” emphasized Ms. Sarrado Mur.

Those who flee the country, mostly women and children, arrive in remote areas across the border “with little or nothing and in desperate need of food, water, shelter and medical care,” she added.

“As the conflict continues and the lack of assistance worsens, more and more people will be forced to flee Sudan to neighboring countries or move further afield, risking their lives in long and difficult journeys. dangerous to get to safety.”

Pressure

Marie-Hélène Verney, UNHCR representative in South Sudan, said 635,000 people had arrived in the country since April 15, the equivalent of 5% of the Sudanese population.

“This is the poorest country in the world, so you can imagine the pressure,” she said via video conference from Juba, South Sudan’s capital.

Many unaccompanied children arrived, as well as single women with “heartbreaking stories” of sexual violence during their journey, she added.

“This violence is being committed by all parties to the conflict in this absolutely senseless war,” Volker Türk, United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said on Monday, describing the situation as “absolutely horrible”.

The Red Cross and Red Crescent have also called on all parties to the conflict to protect civilians.

“When homes, hospitals, and schools are damaged and people not involved in the fight are injured, it not only causes immediate harm, but also makes recovery much more difficult for communities,” they said.