After nine months of relentless conflict, the United Nations reports that nearly eight million people have been forcibly displaced by war in Sudan, prompting a call for urgent additional support to address the deepening crisis.
UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi, disclosed this alarming figure during his visit to Ethiopia, a nation that has become a refuge for many of the displaced individuals. The UNHCR, however, faces a chronic shortfall in necessary funds to address the escalating humanitarian situation.
Since April 2023, over 100,000 people, including close to 47,000 refugees and asylum seekers, have sought sanctuary in Ethiopia from Sudan, adding to the existing 50,000 Sudanese refugees in the country. Grandi emphasized the need for immediate and additional support to meet the pressing needs of the displaced population, as he inspected collaborative efforts by the Ethiopian government and the UNHCR.
Neighboring countries, including Chad, have also seen a massive influx of Sudanese refugees, with more than half a million seeking refuge since April. On average, 1,500 people daily cross into South Sudan.
The latest wave of violence in the 20-year conflict has left nearly half of Sudan’s 49 million people requiring aid. While the UN reported 12,000 deaths by the end of 2023, the actual death toll is believed to be higher.
Chaos erupted in Sudan last April, fueled by long-simmering tensions between the military, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, headed by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti). This violence stems from an earlier conflict in 2003, when rebels from the ethnic sub-Saharan African community launched an armed rebellion against the Arab-dominated government in Khartoum.
Khartoum, the epicenter of the conflict, has been ravaged, with the Rapid Support Forces controlling most of the city. A report by the UN agency International Organization for Migration reveals that approximately three million displaced individuals are originally from Khartoum.
Ethiopia, already hosting one of the largest refugee and internally displaced populations globally, faces its own challenges. As the third-largest refugee-hosting country in Africa, it currently shelters nearly one million displaced people. However, UNHCR’s programs in Ethiopia were only 36 percent funded at the end of last year, with a pressing need for $431 million.
In 2024, the overall requirements for UNHCR’s response in Ethiopia total $426 million, highlighting the urgent need for international support to address the unprecedented crisis unfolding in Sudan.
