Background

Deadly armed conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan and the resumption of inter-communal violence in the Darfur region has forced millions of people from their homes. Since the violence broke out on 15 April 2023, civilians have faced bombings, attacks, sexual violence, hunger and disease outbreaks, while millions of families have had to flee, many of them multiple times, in search of protection and assistance.

Many are arriving at remote border areas, where services to support them are under severe strain. Most of those displaced are women and children and other vulnerable people such as the elderly, people with disabilities, and people with medical conditions.

A reduction in hostilities in the capital, Khartoum, and several other major urban areas, has made it possible to reach refugees and displaced people largely cut off from aid for two years. However, heavy fighting in Sudan’s North Darfur State has caused a new wave of mass displacement, including from the Zamzam and Abu Shouk camps for internally displaced people.

Vital infrastructure in parts of the country has collapsed and access to basic services such as safe water, health care and shelter is severely limited. Millions of children are facing acute levels of food insecurity and more than a dozen regions are teetering on the brink of famine. In some areas where aid agencies have struggled to secure access, famine conditions have already been confirmed.