UN: Conflict could force 800,000 people to flee Sudan

The United Nations warned yesterday that more than 800,000 people may flee Sudan due to armed clashes between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, Anadolu news agency reported.

“UNHCR, with governments and partners, is preparing for the possibility that over 800,000 people may flee the fighting in Sudan for neighbouring countries,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said on Twitter.

UNHCR, with governments and partners, is preparing for the possibility that over 800,000 people may flee the fighting in Sudan for neighbouring countries.
We hope it doesn’t come to that, but if violence doesn’t stop we will see more people forced to flee Sudan seeking safety.

— Filippo Grandi (@FilippoGrandi) May 1, 2023

He stressed that he did not wish matters and numbers to reach “this limit”, but said, “if the violence does not stop, we will see more people forced to flee Sudan for their own security.”

On Friday, the UN revealed that more than 50,000 people had fled Sudan, most were refugees from other countries, in search of safety, following the escalation of fighting that broke out in mid-April.

Those fleeing Sudan went to Egypt, Chad, the Republic of South Sudan, Ethiopia and the Central African Republic.

The clashes have also caused the evacuation of foreign nationals from all parts of Sudan.

According to UN data, Sudan was hosting a record 1.3 million refugees.

Since 15 April, a number of Sudanese states have witnessed large-scale clashes between the army, led by Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan, and the rival RSF, led by Muhammad Hamdan Dagalo.

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