By Enyichukwu Enemanna
No fewer than 10 million Sudanese, representing 20% of the total population are now without homes, following the outbreak of civil war in the country since April last year, International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday.
According to the IOM, this represents the world’s largest displacement, even as the crisis continues to worsen in the East African country.
Heritage Times HT reports that the country, considered as one of the poorest in the world is devastated by a conflict that erupted over the tussle for power between the military leader and his former ally now heading the para-military.
The war has left half the population of about 50 million facing a hunger crisis and in need of humanitarian aid.
Fighting between the army, led by the head of transitional government General Abdul Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces led by Mohamed Hamdan “Hemedti” Dagalo broke out in the capital Khartoum last year and quickly spread across Darfur to the west.
With each laying claim to the headship of the government, the RSF is taking control of most centres.
UN experts say hunger has replaced violence as the largest driver of migration from Darfur, where they face difficulty delivering aid.
“All refugees I met said the reason why they fled Sudan was hunger,” said World Health Organisation country director Dr. Shible Sahbani to reporters after visiting refugees from Darfur, the source of half of the displaced population, in Chad.
“A woman who just reached Adré reported that all food they used to produce locally in Darfur was taken by the fighters,” he added.
Over 2.2 million people have fled to other countries since the war began, while almost 7.8 million sought refuge inside the country, the IOM said in a bimonthly report.
According to the report, additional 2.8 million people were already displaced by previous conflicts in the country.
As the RSF expands its reach in the south east of the country in recent weeks, more than 150,000 people were displaced from Sennar state, the IOM said.
This was worsened after RSF raised markets and homes in the state’s small towns and villages for the second or third time.
The RSF however denies harming civilians, accusing rogue actors of being responsible for displacement of civilians.
Many displaced are now in Gedaref state, which hosts 668,000 people who face heavy rains with limited shelter, and where RSF units have staged incursions.
