More than 1 million people displaced by Sudan crisis: UN

 More than 1 million people have been displaced in Sudan due to the fighting between the Sudanese military and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), according to the United Nations refugee agency.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) spokesperson said on Friday that the fighting affected the lives of people, including a quarter of a million refugees. 

Matthew Saltmarsh, Head of News & Media for the UN Refugee Agency, spoke to reporters in Geneva on Friday. He said that 843,000 people in Sudan had been internally displaced so far due to the fighting between the Sudanese army and the RSF.

During the Geneva briefing, Matthew Saltmarsh said that around 250,000 people have fled across Sudan’s borders, including Chad, Ethiopia and South Sudan. He said, “Many of those who have approached us are in a distressed state having been exposed to violence or traumatic conditions in Sudan, and having suffered arduous journeys.”

The fighting erupted in Khartoum on April 15. The fighting between the two Sudanese rivals has already killed hundreds of people, injured thousands of people and turned the streets into war zones.

Saltmarsh said that the fighting led to the mass exodus. People from Sudan have streamed into Egypt. Reportedly, Egypt has so far received the highest number of refugees from Sudan with around 110,000 people. He revealed that some 5,000 people from Sudan arrived each day in Egypt.

On Wednesday, the United Nations said that half of Sudan’s population requires urgent humanitarian aid. Al-Harith Idriss Al-Harith Mohamed, United Nations (UN) Permanent Representative of the Republic of Sudan, said, “The humanitarian condition is bad in Sudan.” He revealed that there was an urgent need for clean water, food, clinics, medical and financial assistance. He also called the Rapid Support Forces “rebellion.”