UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is concerned at the deepening forced displacement crisis in Sudan and neighbouring countries as hundreds of thousands more people flee from the latest fighting in Sudan’s central Al Jazirah State, southeast of the capital, Khartoum.

According to UNHCR, on 16 December, renewed fighting in El Fasher, in North Darfur, resulted in civilian casualties, injuries, and further displacement, followed by looting of homes and shops, and arrests of youth. In Nyala, in South Darfur, an aerial attack was reported, causing death, injuries and destruction of civilian homes.
Heavy fighting, including airstrikes and shootings, was reported on the outskirts of Wad Madani, the capital of the Al Jazirah State, on Friday, 15 December. 

The fighting has now reached the town. After conflict first broke out in Sudan’s capital in April this year, over half a million people, including some 7,000 refugees, fled to Wad Madani from Khartoum. 

UNHCR staff declared to be very worried that if the fighting further escalates and spreads to White Nile State, it could significantly impact to its work and other humanitarian organizations that provide critical assistance to over 437,000 South Sudanese refugees and some 433,000 internally displaced Sudanese there. 

According to IOM, up to 300,000 people have fled Sudan’s second largest city, Wad Madani in Aj Jazirah state, in a new wave of large-scale displacement after fighting spread to the area, as estimated by the International Organization for Migration’s (IOM) Displasement Tracking Matrix (DTM).
Nearly half a million men, women and children, had taken refuge in Aj Jazirah state since the start of the crisis in April. Thousands are again on the move, many in panic. “This is a human tragedy of immense proportions, deepening the country’s already dire humanitarian crisis,” said IOM Director General Amy Pope. “

A further spread of the fighting or any new influx could disrupt health and WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene) services, resulting in severe consequences for the civilians. 

To read more, visit: 

https://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing-notes/displacement-crisis-sudan-deepens-fighting-spreads 

https://www.iom.int/news/300000-sudanese-displaced-latest-surge-fighting 

https://news.un.org/en/story/2023/05/1136837