IOM: More Than 10 Million People Displaced by Sudan War

Families sit beneath clotheslines as they await meals provided through a charity initiative at a displacement camp in Gedaref city in the east of war-torn Sudan on July 13, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Families sit beneath clotheslines as they await meals provided through a charity initiative at a displacement camp in Gedaref city in the east of war-torn Sudan on July 13, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
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IOM: More Than 10 Million People Displaced by Sudan War

Families sit beneath clotheslines as they await meals provided through a charity initiative at a displacement camp in Gedaref city in the east of war-torn Sudan on July 13, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
Families sit beneath clotheslines as they await meals provided through a charity initiative at a displacement camp in Gedaref city in the east of war-torn Sudan on July 13, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

More than 10 million Sudanese, or 20% of the population, have been driven from their homes since the war there began, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday, as the world's largest displacement crisis continues to worsen.
The number is the latest dire figure out of the east African country, devastated by a conflict that began in April 2023. The war has left half the population of about 50 million facing a hunger crisis and in need of humanitarian aid, the most of any country.
More than 2.2 million people have fled to other countries since the war began, while almost 7.8 million sought refuge inside the country, the IOM said in a bimonthly report. An additional 2.8 million people were already displaced by previous conflicts in the country.
"All refugees I met said the reason why they fled Sudan was hunger," said World Health Organization country director Dr. Shible Sahbani to reporters after visiting refugees from Darfur, the source of half of the displaced population, in Chad.
"A woman who just reached Adré reported that all food they used to produce locally in Darfur was taken by the fighters," he added.
Many displaced are now in Gedaref state, which hosts 668,000 people who face heavy rains with limited shelter, and where RSF units have staged incursions.



Egypt Calls for Urgent Need to Address Repercussions of Sudanese Crisis

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi (dpa)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi (dpa)
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Egypt Calls for Urgent Need to Address Repercussions of Sudanese Crisis

Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi (dpa)
Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi (dpa)

Egypt’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Badr Abdel Ati, called for preserving the Sudanese state and institutions, “and dealing with the humanitarian consequences of the current crisis in a serious and urgent manner.”

His comments came during a meeting on Tuesday in Cairo with the European Union Special Representative to the Horn of Africa, Annette Weber.

In a press statement, Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ahmed Abu Zeid said that discussions during the meeting touched on security and political developments in the Horn of Africa region, including escalating crises and growing extremism and terrorism threats.

Abdel Ati stressed that Egypt attaches great importance to strengthening its relations with the countries of the Horn of Africa, noting that he went on his first foreign trip to Somalia and Djibouti to launch the first direct flight route between the three countries.

He also underlined Cairo’s keenness to achieve a higher degree of interconnection with the countries of the region, as it represents strategic depth for Egyptian national security.

The minister pointed to the importance of supporting the government of Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud in achieving stability, development and combating terrorism.

The spokesman said Abdel Ati discussed security in the Red Sea, the means to ensure freedom of international navigation, and the effects of escalating security threats on the global economy, and on Egypt in particular, as a result of the resources that were lost from the revenues of the Suez Canal.

The two sides also reviewed the outcomes of the Sudanese Political and Civil Forces Conference, as well as Cairo’s efforts to create common ground between the Sudanese parties to start a comprehensive political process.

Abdel Ati and Weber agreed on the importance of deploying concerted efforts to defuse the conflict, coordinating between all effective mediation paths, and resorting to all necessary diplomatic and political means to address the crisis as soon as possible.