Baku: More than 5,000 people have been displaced from 10 villages in Sudan's West Darfur state amid rising insecurity and clashes between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Sunday.

According to Anadolu Agency, the UN agency reported that its Displacement Tracking Matrix teams estimated that 5,135 individuals had fled the villages in West Darfur's Sirba locality as of August 8, following the outbreak of fighting in the Bir Saliba area. The majority of these displaced households have crossed the border into Chad.

On Saturday, Darfur Governor Minni Arko Minnawi stated that the Sudanese army had successfully repelled a large-scale attack by the RSF on Bir Saliba. The area, located north of El Geneina, the capital of West Darfur, holds strategic importance due to its position along routes leading to the city. Bir Saliba has been a repeated flashpoint for conflict between the RSF and the army.

The ongoing fighting between the Sudanese army and the RSF began on April 15, 2023, following disagreements over integrating the paramilitary force into the regular military. This conflict has resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands of people and the displacement of millions.

By the end of June 2026, the IOM had documented approximately 8.69 million internally displaced people in Sudan, in addition to over 4.64 million individuals who had returned to various areas inside the country or from abroad.