The United Nations has reported that more than 10,000 people were displaced within three days this week across the states of North Darfur and South Kordofan, as fierce fighting continues between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Since the start of the war, over 11 million people have been uprooted inside and outside Sudan, with many now living in overcrowded camps or remote towns suffering from severe shortages of food, medicine, and clean water.
The UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) stated on Sunday that more than 7,000 people fled the towns of Umbaru and Karnoi in North Darfur — both of which were captured by the RSF in recent days.
In South Kordofan, more than 3,000 civilians escaped from the city of Kadugli, which is under siege by RSF forces but remains under army control. According to UN reports, the remaining population there faces acute hunger and deteriorating humanitarian conditions.
In another incident in South Kordofan, a fire in the Abu Jubeiha area destroyed 45 shelters belonging to displaced families, adding to the region’s growing humanitarian crisis.
Last Wednesday, the RSF announced that it had seized the cities of Abu Qumra and Umbaru in North Darfur. Local sources told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that RSF fighters were advancing toward areas inhabited by the Zaghawa tribe near Sudan’s northwest border, amid escalating clashes in the region.
“The World’s Worst Humanitarian Crisis”
Fighting has intensified in cities across Kordofan in recent months, following the RSF’s consolidation of control over the entire Darfur region, including the capture of El Fasher in October.
Since the outbreak of the conflict in April 2023, more than 11 million Sudanese have been displaced within the country and beyond. A large proportion now live in overcrowded camps or isolated areas lacking basic necessities such as food, medicine, and clean water.
The war between the army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF, commanded by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti), has fueled what the United Nations describes as “the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.”
Source: France 24 / AFP
