Sudan Humanitarian Update (2 November 2023)

HIGHLIGHTS

• An estimated 5.8 million people have been displaced within and outside Sudan since mid-April 2023.

• A least 85,800 people fled Sudan over the past month seeking safety and protection in neighbouring countries.

• At least 17 people were killed and 17,500 people displaced due to renewed clashes between SAF and RSF in Nyala Town, South Darfur.

• Over 140 people were reportedly killed due to inter-communal fighting in As Sunta and Buram localities in South Darfur.

• Conflict has severely affected agriculture in many parts of the country raising concerns on food security in the coming months.

• The revised 2023 Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan appeal is only 33.6 per cent funded as of 2 November.

SITUATION OVERVIEW

Sudan is facing one of the worst humanitarian crises in recent history, with civilian displacement continuing within the country and into neighbouring countries. Since fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted in mid-April, an estimated 5.8 million people have fled their homes, making Sudan the country with the largest number of displaced people in the world.

According to the International Organization for Migration Displacement Tracking Matrix (IOM DTM) Snapshot 8, about 4.63 million people have been displaced within Sudan and have sought refuge in 4,728 locations across all of Sudan’s 18 states, of whom about 63,400 people were newly displaced over the past week. While IDPs in Sudan were largely concentrated in Darfur, South Kordofan and Blue Nile in 2003 and 2011, after the conflict started on 15 April 2023, IDPs have been registered in all of Sudan’s 18 states. About 1.77 million new IDPs – 38 per cent of the total – are in Darfur, about 1.1 million are in areas south of Khartoum - Aj Jazirah, Blue Nile, Sennar, and White Nile states, close to 1 million are in Northern and River Nile states, about 501,000 are in the eastern states of Kassala, Gedaref and Red Sea. About 256,000 IDPs are in the larger Kordofan region, and 63,600 people are displaced within Khartoum State. IOM reports that those displaced are from eight states, with the majority - about 3.2 million people (69 per cent of all internally displaced) - originally from Khartoum.

In addition to the internal displacement, at least 85,800 people fled Sudan over the past month seeking safety and protection in neighbouring countries, bringing their total numbers since April 2023 to 1.17 million people, according to the latest figures from UNHCR. This indicates a decreasing trend compared to previous months when more than 200,000 people were leaving Sudan on average per month, with the peak number of 300,000 refugees, asylum seekers and returning refugees registered in neighbouring countries between 27 April and 27 May 2023. Since mid-April, thousands of people have crossed into neighbouring Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan.