The United Nations (UN) disclosed on Monday that more than 1.8 million people will have been displaced from their homes by year-end due to the Sudan conflict.
The UN gave the projection as it appealed for a $1 billion fund to enable the agency to provide aid for the refugees fleeing the conflict to five neighbouring countries by the end of the year.
The estimate released by the UN is almost double that projected by UNHCR earlier in May after the conflict began on April 15.
The Assistant High Commissioner for UNHCR Operations, Raouf Mazou, had projected that 90,000 people would have been displaced due to the Sudan conflict. This figure is an increase from the UN’s estimate of 76,000 three days prior.
More than one million people have fled the North African state to neighbouring countries amid fighting between the Sudanese Army Forces (SAF) and its military rival, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) last month had said the Sudan Conflict had displaced more than two million children since fighting broke out between the two warring sides.
According to the report, an average of over 700 children are placed every hour as the clash continues between the Sudanese Army Forces (SAF) and their military rival, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The fighting, which broke out between the two groups in April, has left more than 1.7 million children internally displaced and 470,000 across the border. in search of safety.
Speaking of the impact of the Sudan conflict, UNICEF Country Representative in Sudan, Mandeep O’Brien, explained that “the urgency of our collective response cannot be overstated.”
She explained that “We are hearing unimaginable stories from children and families, some of whom lost everything and had to watch their loved ones die in front of their eyes. We said it before, and we are saying it again: We need peace now for children to survive.”
The report said that close to 14 million children are in urgent need of humanitarian support, many facing multiple threats and terrifying experiences every single day.
“Apart from conflict hotspots like Darfur and Khartoum, the heavy fighting has now spread to other populated areas, including in South and West Kordofan, limiting the delivery and access of lifesaving services to those in urgent need.
“The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification in Sudan (IPC) report estimates that 20.3 million people will be food insecure between July and September 2023 and is expected to further exacerbate close to 10 million children’s health and nutrition status.”
UNICEF further called on both parties to prioritise the safety and well-being of children, ensure their protection, and enable unimpeded humanitarian access to affected areas.
Fighting continued this week near an army base in the capital of Khartoum amidst the Sudan conflict between the military and paramilitary groups
The SAF said heavy losses were inflicted on the RSF group when it tried to attack the armoured corps military base in the Al-Shajara area of Khartoum.
The RSF reported via its Twitter page that it had taken over some parts of the army base and seized a substantial quantity of weaponry.
The leader of the SAF, General Abdel Fattah al Burhan, earlier this month accused his rival and RSF leader, General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, of perpetrating War crimes while falsely pledging to reinstate democracy.