Record Number of Internally Displaced People Globally Amid Conflicts in Sudan, Gaza

A new report has revealed a troubling global trend, with the number of internally displaced people (IDPs) worldwide reaching a record high of 75.9 million by the end of 2023, TRTWorld reported yesterday.

This marks a staggering 50% increase over the past five years, according to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC).

The escalating conflicts in Sudan and the Israeli-Palestinian tensions in Gaza were major contributors to this alarming statistic. Sudan alone accounted for 9.1 million IDPs, the highest number ever recorded for a single country since 2008. Meanwhile, the recent violence in Gaza resulted in 1.7 million Palestinians being internally displaced, with 3.4 million new displacements.

In total, 68.3 million people were displaced globally due to conflict and violence, while 7.7 million were displaced by natural disasters.

In the meantime, more than 300 Syrian refugees headed back home to Syria in a convoy on Tuesday, leaving two remote northeastern towns in crisis-stricken Lebanon.

The UNHCR says nine out of 10 Syrian refugees in Lebanon live in extreme poverty and need humanitarian aid to survive.