El-fasher: More than 81,000 people have fled the city of El-Fasher and nearby villages in Sudan's North Darfur state since Oct. 26 due to ongoing fighting and insecurity, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported.
According to Anadolu Agency, the UN agency stated that its Displacement Tracking Matrix estimated that 81,817 people have been displaced from El-Fasher and surrounding areas. The agency emphasized that these figures are preliminary and could change due to ongoing insecurity and rapidly evolving displacement dynamics.
Most of those displaced remain within El-Fasher locality, with smaller groups moving to the localities of Kabkabiya, Mellit, Kutum, and Tawila in North Darfur, the IOM added. Additional displacement figures have been recorded in other Sudanese states, including Kosti in White Nile state; Ghbeish in West Kordofan; central and northern Jebel Marra in Central Darfur; West Al-Junaynah and Kulbus in West Darfur; Shaeria in East Darfur; and East Jebel and Al-Wihda in South Darfur, according to the statement.
Field teams reported 'extreme insecurity along the roads, obstructing movement,' the IOM stated, adding that the situation 'remains tense and volatile with persistent insecurity and ongoing population movements.' The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) captured El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state and a strategic city in the region, on Oct. 26. This led to massacres of civilians, according to local and international organizations, raising concerns that the takeover could solidify a geographic division of the war-torn country.
Meanwhile, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) warned that the needs of families fleeing El-Fasher to Tawila 'are growing faster than the resources available.' In a statement, the agency mentioned that families escaping the violence arrive in Tawila 'exhausted, hungry and in urgent need of care,' and it is working with partners to provide therapeutic feeding, water, and health services for children. However, the needs are increasing at a pace that exceeds available resources, and current aid is insufficient to meet them.
Out of Sudan's 18 states, the RSF currently controls all five states of the Darfur region in the west, except some northern areas in North Darfur that remain under army control. The Sudanese army governs most of the remaining 13 states in the south, north, east, and central regions, including the capital, Khartoum. Since April 15, 2023, the Sudanese army and the RSF have been engaged in a conflict that regional and international mediations have failed to resolve. The conflict has resulted in thousands of deaths and displaced millions of people.