Thousands continue to flee Sudan every day as conflict intensifies

Thousands of people are still fleeing Sudan every day as a conflict between two warring army factions continues for nearly a year and shows no sign of abating, the United Nations refugee agency said.

The latest data from the United Nations Refugee Agency shows that since the outbreak of war on April 15, 2023, more than 8.5 million people in Sudan have been forced to flee their homes, making it one of the most serious displacement and humanitarian crises in the world.

This figure includes 1.8 million Sudanese who have fled to neighboring countries seeking asylum.

Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has devastated lives, the UN refugee agency said. The report said attacks against civilians have escalated, human rights violations are widespread and rampant, conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence persists and the economy collapses.

“Although the war started a year ago, thousands of people are crossing the border every day as if the emergency started yesterday,” UNHCR spokesperson Olga Salado told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday.

“Chad has experienced its largest refugee arrivals in history. While teams from UNHCR and partners continue to work to resettle refugees into expanded new settlements, more than 150,000 refugees remain stranded in border areas in crowded and unsanitary conditions Conditions are poor, mainly due to lack of funds,” she said.

The UN refugee agency said more than 1,800 people are arriving every day in South Sudan alone, putting increasing pressure on the country’s overwhelmed infrastructure and exacerbating huge humanitarian needs.

“Since April 15 last year, some 635,000 people have arrived in South Sudan, accounting for more than 5% of the population,” Marie-Helene Verney, UNHCR representative in South Sudan, said in the capital Juba .

To put that number into perspective, she said, 635,000 people equates to 4.5 million people arriving in Germany in less than a year, or about 17.6 million people arriving in the United States in less than a year.

“This is the poorest country in the world, so you can imagine the pressure this country is under,” she said. “There are few roads and almost all humanitarian aid must be flown in, which is costly. The rainy season is approaching and we face the risk of disease, especially cholera.

“Unfortunately, we all know that the risk of sexual violence during transit is high,” she said, “and we have heard some heartbreaking stories of women who have had to flee while in Sudan.”

Fernie said the situation of many refugees presented both challenges and opportunities because “many refugees tend to live in cities”.

People from Sudan, who mostly live in the capital Khartoum and the city of Wad Madani, “are very middle-class, well-educated and have professional skills, mainly in health and education,” she said.

City dwellers “don’t want to live in refugee camps,” she said, so UNHCR is working with South Sudan to match their skills to the gaps that exist in the country.

UNHCR’s Salado noted that other asylum countries, including the Central African Republic, Egypt and Ethiopia, also face large daily influxes of Sudanese refugees and the many logistical challenges that come with them.

“Those who cross the border, mainly women and children, arrive in remote areas with next to nothing and in desperate need of food, water, shelter and medical care. Many families are separated and left in dire straits. People and children have witnessed or experienced shocking violence behaviour, so psychosocial support becomes a priority. Many children arrive malnourished,” she said.

Salado warned that as the conflict continues and the lack of aid and opportunities intensifies, “more people will be forced to flee Sudan to neighboring countries or migrate further, risking their lives on long and dangerous journeys” to other countries. Nations seek security. distance.

The UN refugee agency reports that Uganda hosted 30,000 Sudanese refugees last year, including more than 14,000 since the beginning of the year.

In addition, statistics from the United Nations Refugee Agency show that more and more Sudanese refugees are heading to Europe, with 6,000 Sudanese refugees arriving in Italy from Tunisia and Libya since the beginning of 2023, almost six times the number in the previous year.

Despite the severity of the crisis, Salado said funding remains woefully underfunded, saying “only 7%” of UNHCR’s $1.4 billion 2024 refugee response plan for the Sudan region has been received.

She said UNHCR and partners were saving lives in many places, but international donors needed a strong commitment to support Sudan and countries hosting refugees “to ensure that those forced to flee as a result of war can live in dignity.”