Gladness Gideon
As Sudan’s civil war enters its third year, the United Nations has revealed staggering new figures showing that over 13 million people have been displaced by the ongoing conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
In an interview with AFP on Monday, Abdourahouf Gnon-Konde of the UN refugee agency confirmed that the war, which erupted on April 15, 2023, has driven 8.6 million people from their homes within Sudan and forced another 3.8 million to flee across borders as refugees.
The conflict has killed tens of thousands, plunged parts of the country into famine, and fractured Sudan into territories controlled by rival warlords. Nowhere is the crisis more dire than in the Darfur region, where the RSF launched a new offensive last week to seize El-Fasher — the last major city in western Sudan under army control.
According to the UN, credible sources report that more than 400 civilians were killed between Thursday and Sunday as RSF forces targeted El-Fasher and nearby displacement camps, including Zamzam and Abou Shouk — both already gripped by famine.
Following the RSF’s claim of control over Zamzam camp, the UN’s International Organization for Migration reported that approximately 400,000 people have since been displaced from the area. Doctors Without Borders said around 10,000 people fled to Tawila, 70 kilometres west of El-Fasher, within 48 hours, arriving in critical condition and recounting harrowing scenes of violence.
The RSF intensified its assault on El-Fasher following the army’s recent recapture of Khartoum, located about 1,000 kilometres to the east. The capital’s fall had previously marked a turning point in the conflict, which has now effectively split Sudan — with the army controlling the north and east, while the RSF holds much of Darfur and parts of the south.
International concern continues to mount. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock called the conflict “the greatest humanitarian catastrophe of our time,” citing widespread starvation, destruction, and sexual violence. “Entire regions have been destroyed, hundreds of thousands of families are fleeing, millions of people are starving, and women and children are being subjected to the most horrific sexual violence,” she said.
Her comments came ahead of an international conference scheduled for Tuesday in London to address Sudan’s worsening humanitarian crisis.
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Mirjana Spoljaric, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, added that civilians are “trapped in a relentless nightmare of death and destruction.” Meanwhile, the UN Fact-Finding Mission warned that “the darkest chapters of this conflict have yet to unfold,” noting a sharp rise in ethnic violence and retaliatory attacks.
“As Sudan enters into its third year of conflict, we must reflect on the catastrophic situation and honour the lives of all Sudanese who have been lost or changed forever,” said Mohamed Chande Othman, Chair of the mission.
Despite international appeals for a ceasefire and humanitarian access, Sudan’s conflict shows no signs of abating, leaving millions vulnerable and the nation’s future hanging in the balance.