Thousands Flee North Darfur Villages as Sudan Conflict Intensifies

(MENAFN) More than 2,500 people have escaped from five villages in Sudan’s North Darfur state as insecurity continues to deteriorate, with most displaced families seeking refuge in neighboring Chad, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

The agency reported Sunday that approximately 2,510 people had left their homes in Um Baru locality, where security conditions remain unstable.

The latest displacement adds to previous movements recorded in the same area. Between Oct. 29 and 31, around 1,150 people fled four villages in the locality, following an earlier wave that forced another 895 residents from three villages to leave their homes during October.

In a separate development, IOM reported that 115 people escaped from Al-Farshaya village in South Kordofan’s Dilling locality on Saturday. Most of those affected relocated to other areas within the same locality.

Meanwhile, IOM and the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, have warned that a critical shortage of funding could leave millions of people displaced by the ongoing conflict without emergency shelter or essential household items.

The two organizations estimated that approximately 8.6 million people remain displaced within Sudan, while more than 4.6 million others have crossed international borders in search of safety.

Fighting has intensified across North, West and South Kordofan since last year, adding to the country's worsening humanitarian emergency.

The conflict between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which erupted in April 2023, has killed tens of thousands of people and forced millions from their homes, creating one of the world's largest displacement crises.

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