Sudan now hosts world's largest internal displacement crisis, says IOM

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has declared Sudan the site of the world's most severe internal displacement crisis, a consequence of over two years of intense civil war. The conflict, pitting the national army against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has forced millions from their homes, creating a humanitarian catastrophe of staggering scale.

A crisis of immense human hardship

The UN agency highlighted the severe human toll, stating, "From mothers fleeing with newborns to students separated from their families, people face immense hardship." Critical relief and protection services are being delivered with support from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF), a global UN mechanism for rapid crisis financing alongside the Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies.

A nation divided by conflict lines

The war has effectively partitioned Sudan. The RSF controls the five states of the Darfur region in the west, with the exception of some northern areas of North Darfur. Meanwhile, the national army holds most territory across the remaining 13 states in the south, north, east, and center, including the capital, Khartoum. This entrenched division complicates aid delivery and any prospect of a swift resolution.

The devastating toll of a protracted war

The fighting, which erupted in April 2023, has resulted in thousands of deaths and the displacement of millions within Sudan's borders, alongside a major refugee exodus to neighboring countries. The IOM's designation underscores how a conflict often overshadowed by other global crises has generated one of the most severe and destabilizing humanitarian emergencies currently facing the international community.