The United Nations revealed on Wednesday that approximately eight million people have been displaced by the ongoing war between rival generals in Sudan.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, currently on a visit to Ethiopia, urged the global community to contribute generously to address this dire crisis, characterizing the situation as “serious.”
Addressing the media in Addis Ababa, Grandi emphasized the escalating intensity of the conflict and its severe impact on civilians.
He disclosed that in the span of less than a year since April 2023, eight million individuals have been forced to flee their homes in Sudan, with over 1.5 million seeking refuge in six neighboring countries.
The roots of the conflict trace back to April of the previous year when Sudan’s army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, clashed with his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, commander of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Despite diplomatic efforts to quell the violence, ceasefires have been repeatedly violated, prolonging the crisis.
Grandi, scheduled to visit Sudan shortly, urged donors to increase their support for the growing number of refugees, emphasizing that only 40 percent of the required funding has been secured.
He expressed his discontent, stating, “This is not acceptable,” acknowledging the existence of other visible crises but underscoring the urgency of the situation in Sudan.
As of January 21, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that 7.6 million people had been displaced, with children constituting approximately half of the total.
The dire situation has led to over 100,000 people, nearly half of them Sudanese, seeking refuge in Ethiopia, while the number of individuals fleeing to Chad surpassed 500,000 last week.
Additionally, an average of 1,500 people are fleeing into South Sudan daily, according to a UN statement.
The OCHA also revealed that, by January 21, almost 517,000 people had crossed the border from Sudan to South Sudan.
The conflict, extending to the capital Khartoum, has claimed thousands of lives, with UN experts estimating between 10,000 and 15,000 casualties in a single town in the western Darfur region.
In response to the crisis, Sudan’s army-aligned government declined an invitation to a summit organized by the East African bloc IGAD, leading to the suspension of its membership in the group for engaging with General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.
The international community faces a critical juncture in responding to the urgent humanitarian needs arising from the Sudanese conflict.