70% of Sudan’s IDPs are from Khartoum State
October 12, 2023 (KHARTOUM) – The UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported Wednesday that about 70% of Sudan’s internally displaced people (IDPs) originate from Khartoum State, while a third of Sudanese refugees have fled to neighbouring countries.
Six months after the outbreak of hostilities between the army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), Sudanese have deserted the capital, Khartoum, which the paramilitary group mostly controls. War crimes, human rights abuses committed by the RSF, and the bombing of residential areas by the military during the first months and now by both sides have forced civilians to seek refuge in other areas.
Citing Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) estimations, IOM said that the war has displaced 4,551,795 people within Sudan and forced 1,237,103 others to flee to neighbouring countries as refugees.
“The majority (3,120,044 IDPs, 68.55%) have been reportedly displaced from Khartoum state, followed by South Darfur (14.58%), North Darfur (7.97%), Central Darfur (3.99%), West Darfur (3.75%), South Kordofan (0.72%), North Kordofan (0.43%), and Al-Jazira (0.01%),” said the report.
The largest percentages of IDPs were recorded in River Nile (12.66%), South Darfur (11.19%), East Darfur (11.01%), Al-Jazira (8.07%), Northern (7.97%), and North Darfur (7.37%).
The UN humanitarian coordinator admitted last week that the River Nile and Northern states (nearly 21%) are not covered by the aid provided to the IDPs. The UN’s top official in Sudan mainly pointed to the lack of funding.
The US remains the largest single donor for the Sudan response. The EU, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia are the major donors providing substantial humanitarian support to the war-affected civilians. Moreover, according to UN estimates, about 24.7 million Sudanese will require humanitarian assistance during 2023.
In addition, the IOM estimates that 1,237,103 individuals have fled to neighbouring countries, namely Egypt, Libya, Chad, Central African Republic, South Sudan, and Ethiopia. Only 65% of the civilians who fled the country are Sudanese nationals. The others are returnees or foreigners.
The majority of refugees were reported in Chad (40.5%), Egypt (26.1%), and South Sudan (24.6%).
Call for more support
The Civil Forces Alliance to Stop the War and Restore Democracy, a coalition of civilian forces in Sudan, has called on the international community to redouble its interest in the catastrophic situation of Sudanese civilians who are experiencing harsh conditions due to the ongoing armed conflict.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the alliance has also urged the international community to work with civil society groups to provide relief and healthcare in line with the scale of the current disaster in the country.
The anti-war coalition urged to increase the funding allocated to relief operations, pointing out that only 30% of the required funds have been provided.
(ST)