Over 10,000 Sudanese Displaced in Three Days

Violence across western and southern Sudan forced more than 10,000 people to flee their homes over just three days this week, the United Nations migration agency reported.

Sudan has been engulfed in a brutal conflict since April 2023, as fighting between the national army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has left tens of thousands dead and displaced over 11 million people. The UN has described the war as one marked by widespread atrocities.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), attacks carried out between December 25 and 26 on the villages of Um Baru and Kernoi, close to the border with Chad, drove more than 7,000 residents from their homes. The assaults followed the RSF’s expansion westward after it seized control of al-Fashir, the capital of North Darfur, in October. The group has since advanced through areas dominated by the Zaghawa ethnic community, where pro-army militias are active.

Tensions have also spilled across Sudan’s borders. On Friday, an RSF drone strike hit the Chadian border town of Tine, killing two Chadian soldiers, a military source in Chad told AFP.

Meanwhile, in South Kordofan, another 3,100 people were displaced between Christmas Eve and Friday from Kadugli, a city already struggling with famine conditions. Kadugli has remained under siege by paramilitary forces for more than 18 months.

Kordofan, a region rich in natural resources, has become one of the main battlegrounds of the war. The RSF and allied groups are attempting to regain control of Sudan’s central corridor, a strategic route linking Darfur to the capital, Khartoum.

The prolonged fighting has triggered what aid agencies describe as the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, combining mass displacement with severe hunger.

The conflict has also effectively divided Sudan, with the army holding the north, east and central regions, while the RSF controls all five state capitals in Darfur and, alongside its allies, large parts of the south.