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Sudan + 8 more

Sudan Situation External Update #93 (15 - 21 December 2024)

Attachments

Highlights

  • UNHCR has reported a sharp rise in the number of Sudanese refugees arriving in Libya, with daily arrivals reaching 400 and over 210,000 refugees now in the country. The Sudan crisis has caused widespread displacement, straining resources in Libya, particularly in remote areas like Alkufra, where refugees face high food prices, fuel shortages, and poor living conditions. UNHCR has provided lifesaving assistance, including healthcare, relief supplies, and support for documentation, while also strengthening access to local services. However, urgent needs for winter supplies such as blankets, warm clothing, and shelter materials are needed. UNHCR has called for increased international support to improve living conditions and expand humanitarian efforts, especially in health and education, to address the growing needs of refugees and host communities.

  • In less than three weeks, over 80,000 people have sought safety in South Sudan due to the escalating violence in Sudan's White Nile, Sennar, and Blue Nile States. This has resulted in more than a threefold increase in the average number of daily arrivals compared to previous weeks.
    The majority of those arriving are women and children with urgent humanitarian needs. They are primarily entering through remote and hard-to-reach border crossings and settling in small border villages. Among those fleeing the latest wave of violence in Sudan are not only Sudanese nationals but also South Sudanese refugees who had been living in Sudan’s White Nile State, an area that had been relatively safe since the onset of the conflict.

  • During an interview with Agence France-Presse (AFP) at UNHCR's Geneva headquarters on 16 December 2024, Mamadou Dian Balde, the Regional Refugee Coordinator for the Sudan Situation, emphasized the international community's insufficient recognition of the severity of Sudan's ongoing conflict. He noted that UNHCR and partners have only received 30% of the USD $1.5 billion requested for 2024 to support the now over 3 million refugees forced to flee the conflict.
    He also highlighted the crisis’s impact beyond regional borders, with refugees reaching as far as Uganda and Libya, as well as Europe, underscoring the situation’s global implications.