IOM: 20% of Sudanese displaced internally and externally

The International Organization for Migration said yesterday, Tuesday, that 20% of Sudan's population has been displaced as a result of the fighting between the army and the Rapid Support Forces since April 15, 2023, inside and outside the country.

The organization pointed out in a statement that the displacement tracking matrix in Sudan showed that 10 million, 594 thousand, and 576 people were internally and externally displaced until July 3, including 7 million, 794 thousand, and 480 people who were internally displaced since April 15, 2023, and that 2 million, 238 thousand, and 671 people crossed into neighboring countries.

The organization continued: "More than 20% of Sudan's population has been displaced, either internally or across borders, since April 15, 2023," noting that "one in five people has become internally displaced, and more than a third of the total displaced were from (the capital) Khartoum."

“Food is the most frequently reported need among displaced families,” the organization said, adding that “more than 97 percent of displaced people across Sudan are hosted in areas experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity or worse.”

Since mid-April 2023, the Sudanese army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), have been waging a war that has left about 15,000 dead, according to the United Nations. UN and international calls have increased to spare Sudan a humanitarian catastrophe that could push millions to famine and death, due to food shortages caused by the fighting that has spread to 12 of the country’s 18 states.