The fighting in Sudan between the army and paramilitaries has displaced
“nearly 8 million”
people, deplored the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Filippo Grandi, on Wednesday, calling for urgent help.
The war has raged since April 15, 2023 between the army of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhane and the Rapid Support Forces (FSR, paramilitary) of General Mohammed Hamdane Daglo, former number two in military power.
The conflict has left more than 13,000 dead, according to a very underestimated report from the NGO Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (Acled).
Call for support
The “brutal conflict in Sudan” has left
“nearly 8 million”
displaced, indicated in a press release Filippo Grandi, traveling in Ethiopia, calling
for “urgent support (...) to meet their needs”
.
“I have heard heartbreaking stories of loss of family, friends, home and livelihood, but amid this despair, I have also seen the determination of refugees to move forward, if only gives them the support and the opportunity
,” said Grandi.
On December 21, a UN spokesperson estimated that the conflict, which had displaced 7.1 million people, was
“ the
largest displacement
crisis in the world”
.
One of Sudan's six neighboring countries, Ethiopia, has welcomed more than 100,000 people fleeing fighting since April 2023, according to the UN.
These are in addition to the approximately 50,000 Sudanese refugees already present in the country.
“Last week, the number of new arrivals in Chad exceeded 500,000 since last April and, in South Sudan, an average of 1,500 people cross the country daily
,” added the UNHCR in a press release.