OVER 107,000 DISPLACED FROM SUDAN’S EL-FASHER AS SECURITY DETERIORATES, UN MIGRATION AGENCY SAYS

KHARTOUM, Dec 22 (Bernama-Anadolu) -- More than 107,000 Sudanese civilians have been displaced from the city of El-Fasher and surrounding villages in North Darfur state due to worsening insecurity, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said Sunday, Anadolu Ajansi reported.

In a statement, the UN agency said an estimated 107,294 people – about 24,221 families – fled El-Fasher and nearby areas between Oct 26 and Dec 8 when the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) took control of the city, as security conditions sharply deteriorated.

About 72 per cent of those displaced remained within North Darfur, mainly in northern and western parts of the state, while around 19 per cent moved to other states, including Central Darfur, the Northern State and White Nile State, the IOM added.

According to the agency’s field teams, about 75 per cent of those displaced since Oct 26 had already been internally displaced, including people who initially fled major displacement camps such as Zamzam and Abu Shouk or neighbourhoods inside El-Fasher during earlier escalations.

The organisation warned that movement restrictions and persistent insecurity could further limit mobility and alter displacement routes depending on developments on the ground.

The figures are preliminary and subject to change as insecurity continues and displacement dynamics evolve rapidly, the IOM said, adding that the situation remains highly volatile and tense.

The three Kordofan states -- North, West, and South -- have seen weeks of fierce fighting between the army and the RSF, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee.

Of Sudan’s 18 states, the RSF controls all five states of the Darfur region in the west, except for some northern parts of North Darfur that remain under army control. The army, in turn, holds most areas of the remaining 13 states in the south, north, east, and centre, including the capital Khartoum.

The conflict between the Sudanese army and the RSF, which began in April 2023, has since killed thousands of people and displaced millions of others.

-- BERNAMA-ANADOLU