Thousands of residents have fled a town in southern Sudan following a surge in violent clashes between the Sudanese army and rival paramilitary forces, according to the United Nations.
The ongoing conflict, which began in April 2023, has seen Sudanese army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan’s forces battling the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
The UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that between 1,000 and 3,000 households were displaced from Um Rawaba town in North Kordofan state within just five days. The displacement followed a military advance on Al-Jazira state, located 300 kilometers (186 miles) northeast, as clashes between the two factions intensified.
Widespread Displacement and Hunger Crisis
In North Kordofan alone, over 205,000 people are currently displaced, with families fleeing due to escalating security risks, the IOM noted. Across Sudan, 11.5 million people are internally displaced, making it the world’s largest displacement crisis, according to UN figures.
The war has claimed thousands of lives and exacerbated an already dire humanitarian crisis, pushing the country toward famine. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) recently warned that famine conditions have already affected five regions in western and southern Sudan, with the crisis expected to spread further.
In North Kordofan, around 350,000 people are experiencing emergency levels of hunger—one step away from famine. Nationwide, nearly half the population, or 24.6 million people, face acute food insecurity.
The IPC emphasized that only a ceasefire could prevent famine from worsening, underscoring the urgent need for a resolution to Sudan’s devastating conflict.