Sudan – Six months of crisis and forced displacement

Select a language:  English  |  Français  |  Español 

Fighting between two rival military factions erupted in Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, on 15 April. The violence quickly spread to other parts of the country and continues, despite repeated announcements of ceasefires.

The impact on civilians and refugees caught in the crossfire has been catastrophic. Millions of Sudanese and refugees living in the country have had to flee to other parts of Sudan or cross into neighbouring countries. Malnutrition rates are surging and measles and other diseases are running rampant. Nearly 25 million people – half the population – are now vulnerable and in urgent need of humanitarian assistance and protection.

Meanwhile, funding for the response has lagged far behind the needs – a revised humanitarian response plan for 2023 was only 33 per cent funded as of 3 October.

With no sign of an urgently needed end to the fighting, the crisis threatens to consume the country and destabilize the region as Sudan’s neighbours struggle to absorb a rising influx of refugees and returnees.

Prior to the conflict, Sudan was home to over 1 million refugees – the second-highest refugee population in Africa. The majority were from South Sudan and lived in Khartoum and White Nile States, but refugees fleeing the crisis in northern Ethiopia starting in late 2020 also found refuge in eastern Sudan, while others came from Eritrea, Syria and the Central African Republic. Most lived in informal settlements and urban areas while others stayed in formal camps, particularly in East Sudan and White Nile States.

Since the start of the crisis, some 188,000 refugees have fled to other parts of the country in search of safety. Some have moved to IDP sites, while others have sought safety in existing refugee camps that, even before the conflict, suffered from overcrowding and a lack of resources. In White Nile State alone, an additional 144,000 refugees and asylum-seekers are reported to have arrived fleeing Khartoum and other conflict areas, increasing the pre-crisis refugee population of 297,000 by almost 50 per cent.

Since the start of the conflict, just over 20,000 non-Sudanese refugees have fled the country that had given them refuge. The largest number are Eritreans and South Sudanese who have crossed into Ethiopia and Egypt.

Far outnumbering this group are refugees who have prematurely returned to their home countries. The vast majority of these are South Sudanese. Much smaller numbers have also returned to the Central African Republic and Ethiopia.

Some 266,000 South Sudanese who fled to Sudan to escape their country’s own brutal civil war have made the return journey over the past six months.

But they have returned to a country still facing instability and insecurity, as well as weak infrastructure, chronic food shortages and several years of devastating floods.

Returnees are mainly arriving via the Joda border crossing in Upper Nile State before being transported to a transit centre in nearby Renk. The centre was designed to accommodate 3,000 people, but four times that number are now living in and around it  in increasingly difficult circumstances. They lack sufficient shelter, water and sanitation facilities, or health services.

Increasing numbers of children are arriving from Sudan with measles and malnutrition. Meanwhile, The World Food Programme has warned that a  hunger emergency  is looming on the border as funding for food assistance fails to keep pace with the steady stream of new arrivals.

Inside Sudan, the ongoing clashes in Khartoum, Kordofan, and Darfur regions have hindered the ability of UNHCR and other agencies to deliver much-needed assistance. In areas where the security situation permits, such as Gedaref, Kassala, White Nile, and Blue Nile states, UNHCR has strengthened its operations to continue providing protection and assistance to refugees and to respond to new displacement patterns. Additionally, UNHCR has established new offices in Port Sudan, Wad Madani, and Wadi Halfa, where our teams and partners are assisting refugees, internally displaced and other affected Sudanese people. We provide relief items, emergency shelters, cash assistance, and critical services, including education programmes, legal aid for individuals lacking civil documentation, and psychosocial support.

In neighbouring countries, UNHCR is coordinating the response to the influx of refugees and returnees together with governments, other UN agencies and partners. Our teams have been working around the clock to support new arrivals, set up transit centres where people can rest and receive essential protection services and emergency aid, establish and expand camps where they can access longer-term support, and facilitate onward transfers away from overcrowded border areas. 

Yet with millions who have fled to neighbouring countries or other parts of Sudan in urgent need of help, waning international attention and a chronic lack of funding is hampering the capacity of UNHCR and other organizations to save lives.

We cannot let this become another forgotten emergency. To support people forced to flee Sudan click below.