Sudan conflict displaced three million people: UN
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The United Nations says the ongoing conflict in Sudan forced some three million people out of their homes and displaced them.
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A Sudanese evacuee carries her son as they disembark from the USNS Brunswick at Jeddah port, Saudi Arabia, May 4, 2023 (AP)
The conflict in Sudan has displaced some three million people out of their homes in less than three months, the United Nation's International Organization for Migration said Thursday.
With more than 2.2 million internally displaced Sudanese people and nearly 700,000 others who had to flee the country as a whole, the latest figures obtained by the IOM through its Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) revealed that the conflict displaced close to three million people.
The IOM revealed that the majority of the people were displaced from Khartoum (67%) and Darfur (33%) toward Northern State (16%), the River Nile (14%), West Darfur (7%), and White Nile states.
The agency underlined that access to health services and essential relief items is critically low, and though the majority of those internally displaced live with the community hosting them, an overwhelming 280,000 of them currently live in last-resort shelters such as camps, public buildings, and improvised shelters.
When it comes to the people fleeing the country, 40% possibly went to Egypt, 28% to Chad, 21% to South Sudan, Ethiopia, and the Central African Republic.
Although some 697,000 people fled the country into neighboring states, the majority of whom are Sudanese, a vast 35% are returnees and third-country nationals.
This comes amid a fierce escalation in the country as violence is taking it by storm and putting at least 24.7 million of its people, one-third of whom are in Darfur, where the situation has been deteriorating drastically over the past few months, as it is one of the worst-affected regions in the country.
"IOM reiterates calls for a permanent ceasefire and removal of bureaucratic impediments, to ensure safe and guaranteed humanitarian corridors and enable the delivery of aid to people in hard-to-reach areas," said IOM MENA Regional Director, Othman Belbeisi.
Darfur, a vast western region on the border with Chad, has witnessed the deadliest violence since the war erupted on April 15.
In the South Darfur state capital, Nyala, at least a dozen civilians were killed on Sunday, according to a local doctor who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons.
Around two million people have been displaced within the country, and roughly 600,000 others have fled over Sudan's borders, the International Organization for Migration has said.
As people vented their rage at the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) rival paramilitaries' extensive seizure of private residences, demonstrations in support of the regular army were organized on Friday in greater Khartoum and in the White Nile state to its south, according to witnesses.
The IOM previously said over 150,000 people have escaped to Chad. According to Prime Minister Saleh Kebzabo, the country already had over 680,000 refugees and is in need of intense financial and technical support to uphold the "unprecedented migratory crisis."
Read more: 'Sudan bleeding to death': Aid situation worsens as fighting spreads
Moreover, two-thirds of Sudan's health facilities in the main battlegrounds remain out of service, the World Health Organization said, with some bombed and others occupied by fighters.
The few hospitals still operating are extremely low on medical supplies, struggling to obtain fuel to power generators, and understaffed.
