Mass exodus from Sudan as deadly combat enters third week

Hundreds of thousands of people have fled Sudan in the past two weeks, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. But thousands remain trapped in the country.

Violent battles between the forces of the army chief. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his former number two, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who commands the paramilitary RSF, have rocked the country since April 15. The deadly clashes have sparked a mass exodus of civilians, the scale of which is still hard to pin down.

Tens of thousands of people in the particularly volatile western region of Darfur have crossed the border in Chad. Others are trying to reach South Sudan, the Central African Republic, Egypt or Ethiopia, raising fears of major displacement from a country of 45 million people, one of the largest in Africa.

unsuccessful truces

despite the latest three day ceasefire Set to expire at midnight, army forces clashed with paramilitaries on Sunday in Sudan’s capital Khartoum. Fighting was reported around the army headquarters in the city center, and the Sudanese army also carried out airstrikes on the capital’s twin city, Omdurman, across the Nile River.

Although countries like Saudi Arabia, France and the United States have managed to repatriate nationals and diplomats in recent days, millions of civilians living in Khartoum are caught up in the chaos engulfing the megacity. Without outside help, they are faced with a dilemma: risk their lives on the road or remain cloistered in their homes, where they endure crippling shortages of water and electricity.

“To get out of the city, you have to dodge the bombings. The roads are no longer safe and armed attacks occur frequently. Travel expenses have also quadrupled and there is a shortage of gasoline,” explains Omar*, a Sudanese journalist whose family managed to flee Khartoum. April 26.

“In the east of the country where I live, things are still calm. Some people come here to seek refuge in the big cities like Kassala, Al-Qadarif and Port Sudan. Others go to Ethiopia in the east or Egypt in the north to flee. the country.”

More than 14,000 Sudanese and 2,000 other nationals of other countries have crossed into Egypt since the conflict began. according the government of the country.

Meanwhile, International Organization for Migration (IOM) spokesman Eric Mazago told AFP on Thursday that more than 3,500 people moved into southeastern Ethiopia between April 21 and 25.

A ‘race against time’ in Chad

Another hot spot in the conflict in Sudan is the western region of Darfur, still scarred by a war that broke out in 2003. Its capital, El Geneina, has seen an increase in attacks against civilians in recent days.

At least 20,000 people crossed into Chad during the first 10 days of fighting, according to UNHCR, despite the fact that its government closed the border with Sudan at the start of the conflict on April 15.

The country was already hosting more than 400,000 Sudanese refugees in 13 camps in local communities, who had fled the Genocide from 2003 to 2010.

Chadian border towns such as Koufron, Midjiguilta and Dize Birte have seen the largest influx of displaced people. Humanitarian organizations on the ground are trying to provide emergency aid by providing water, food, medical care and temporary shelter.

We are in “a race against time,” said UNHCR’s deputy representative in Chad, Jérôme Merlin, calling on the international community for help. “In two months, maybe less, the rainy season will form big rivers or ‘wadis’, making it very difficult to help.”

‘Premature’ returns to South Sudan

As more and more people seek refuge in neighboring countries, South Sudan also sees the arrival of civilians who feel violence. At least 14,000 people have crossed the border, UNHCR spokeswoman Shabia Mantoo told AFP on Saturday.

“These people come from different places in Sudan. They have traveled by bus or their own means of transport,” explains Faith Kasina, a Nairobi-based UNHCR representative who is coordinating the humanitarian response. “They have decided to return to their home country because they have family there, although most have left for security reasons,” she says.

Since 2013, South Sudan has been caught in a civil war between the government of President Salva Kiir and a rebellion led by former Vice President Riek Machar.

in a statement Released on April 26, UNCHR chief Filippo Grandi expressed concern that South Sudanese refugees “have been forced to return home prematurely amid deep uncertainty.”

“A few kilometers away”

As Sudan enters the third week of a deadly conflict, the long struggle for power between the country’s army and the RSF paramilitary group continues. Rival forces accuse each other of violating the last ceasefiremediated by the United States, Saudi Arabia, the African Union and the United Nations on Thursday.

“There are two separate situations taking place in Khartoum and El Geneina in Darfur that prevent the Sudanese from fleeing,” says Claire Nicolet, who heads Sudan operations for Doctors Without Borders. “It is very difficult to get out of Khartoum, but once out, the situation becomes easier. However, in the Darfur capital, El Geneina, the roads surrounding the city are dangerous. It takes about an hour to get to the Sudan border from El Geneina, but right now it’s an impossible journey to do.”

The UNHCR team stationed along the border with Chad made similar observations and expected a much larger influx of refugees to arrive.

“Most of the Sudanese who have arrived in Chad so far have come from villages close to the border, just a few kilometers away,” says UNHCR representative Merlin. If there is a lull in the fighting, “we expect a bigger wave of arrivals.” , he explains he.

Faced with a looming bloody crisis, the African Union on Thursday called on Sudan’s neighbors and international partners to “facilitate the transit” of civilians fleeing violence “without hindrance.”

*Name has been changed upon request

This article was translated from originals in french.