The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said today the war in Sudan has displaced 11 million people, with an additional 3.1 million people crossing the international border to escape the fighting.
Speaking at a press conference today, IOM Director-General Amy Pope labelled the situation in Sudan as a “humanitarian catastrophe,” referring to UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
She said that hunger, disease, and sexual violence have maximized the suffering of the people. “The people are telling us that they are just living a nightmare. It is underreported conflict, and we just have to pay attention because millions are suffering.”
Pope warned the conflict has a serious possibility of creating a regional instability in the Horn of Africa and Sahel region stressing that outside forces are “fueling the fire just to intensify the conflict.”
Pope added that 25 million people require assistance, and “nearly half of the population need aid”.
“People have no shelter. They don’t have access to clean drinking water. They don’t have access to healthcare services, and as a result, diseases spread fast. And one in every two Sudanese struggle to get even a minimum amount of food to survive.”
The war between the Sudanese army chief, General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo erupted in April 2023.
The RSF was created as a pro-Arab militia, commonly known as Janjaweed, by the ex-Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir against his opposition groups in Darfur who identify themselves as Eastern Africans.
