10M Sudanese Face Internal Displacement As Famine Looms, Warns UN Migration Agency

The ongoing conflict in Sudan has led to a staggering humanitarian crisis, with the number of internally displaced people potentially reaching 10 million in the coming days, Anadolu Agency reported yesterday citing the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

The IOM’s latest Displacement Tracking Matrix data indicates that 9.9 million people have already been displaced across Sudan’s 18 states, including 2.8 million prior to the outbreak of war in April 2023 and an additional 7.1 million after. Over half of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) are women, and more than a quarter are children under five years old.

“Imagine a city the size of London being displaced. That’s what it’s like, but it’s happening with the constant threat of crossfire, with famine, disease and brutal ethnic and gender-based violence,” warned IOM Director General Amy Pope.

The conflict between the Sudanese army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary group has already resulted in over 16,000 deaths and has forced more than 2 million people to flee across borders into neighboring countries, primarily Chad, South Sudan, and Egypt.

In a recent attack on Wednesday by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on a village in central Sudan, up to 100 people were killed.

The UN has declared the situation in Sudan a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, with over 25 million people in urgent need of assistance. However, the IOM has only received 19% of the funds it has requested, highlighting the dire need for “unified international efforts to avoid a looming famine,” according to Pope.

As the conflict continues to escalate, humanitarian organizations are working tirelessly to provide relief to the growing number of displaced Sudanese, but the scale of the crisis remains overwhelming.