Fresh Clashes Force Over 10,000 to Flee in Western and Southern Sudan

More than 10,000 people have been displaced from North Darfur and South Kordofan within three days following a renewed surge in violence,according to the UN migration agency. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Sunday,December 28,that over 7,000 residents fled the towns of Kernoi and Oum Barou in North Darfur between Thursday and Friday,as fighting intensified near the Chadian border.

In South Kordofan,around 3,100 people escaped the besieged state capital,Kadugli,between Wednesday and Friday. The city has been encircled by Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitaries for more than 18 months and was declared famine-hit in November,prompting humanitarian agencies to evacuate staff after the withdrawal of a UN logistics base.

The IOM noted that the RSF’s capture of El-Fasher,the capital of North Darfur,at the end of October had already triggered the displacement of more than 107,000 civilians. In recent days,the paramilitary group has pushed westwards into Zaghawa-populated areas previously held by army-aligned militias. Analysts say the RSF,which controls about a third of Sudan’s territory,is now focusing its offensive on the resource-rich Kordofan region in a bid to reclaim the strategic central corridor linking Darfur to Khartoum.