Khartoum/El Obeid, August 20 (Darfur24)
Nearly 200,000 people have been newly displaced across Sudan amid escalating fighting and seasonal flooding, while around 11,000 people fled two villages in North Kordofan in the latest wave of displacement, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.
IOM said the number of internally displaced people in Sudan has risen to 8.6 million, warning that continued conflict, heavy rains and damage to basic infrastructure are worsening conditions for affected communities.
The latest displacement comes as fighting expands across North and South Kordofan, Darfur and Blue Nile, where the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), along with their allies, are engaged in clashes on multiple fronts.
IOM Director General Amy Pope said Sudanese families continue to flee violence while access to water, electricity and healthcare is declining, leaving communities increasingly vulnerable to additional risks from flooding.
The organization said attacks on the main electricity transformer in El Obeid, North Kordofan, caused prolonged power cuts that disrupted water supplies, healthcare services and communications.
In North Darfur, heavy rains and flooding in Tawila damaged or destroyed about 1,350 homes and displaced more than 1,000 families during the past week.
Meanwhile, IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix estimated that about 11,000 people were displaced from Um Samima and Abu Haraz villages in Sheikan locality, North Kordofan, between August 16 and 18 due to worsening insecurity.
The displaced families moved to other locations within Sheikan locality as security conditions remained tense and unpredictable, according to the organization’s field monitoring teams.
The latest displacement follows several weeks of escalating fighting in North Kordofan. On August 13, the Sudanese army said it had repelled an RSF attack on Jebra al-Sheikh, while clashes erupted the following day in Um Arda and Jabal al-Hashaba, southwest of El Obeid.
IOM previously estimated that more than 4,250 people were displaced from Umm Arda, Temeed and Al Khor El Obeid in Sheikan locality between August 14 and 15.
The successive waves of displacement have added pressure to El Obeid, which has become a major destination for people fleeing fighting in surrounding areas and other parts of North Kordofan.
IOM described Sudan as one of the world’s largest displacement crises, saying it delivered about 1,750 metric tons of humanitarian assistance over the past three days. However, it warned that declining humanitarian funding threatens the continuation of relief operations.
The organization also said disruptions to global supply chains, particularly through the Red Sea and Strait of Hormuz, have complicated the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
Large parts of Sudan are currently experiencing seasonal rains, with North Darfur, Kordofan, Central and West Darfur, White Nile, Khartoum and Kassala recording varying levels of rainfall in recent days.
IOM called on the international community to provide urgent funding and support to ensure that humanitarian assistance can continue reaching millions of people affected by conflict, displacement and flooding.