3 million Sudanese refugees and displaced persons and fierce battles in Omdurman – Watana News

2023-07-07 08:30:15

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July 7, 2023

Watan Al-Youm: Fierce battles broke out around Omdurman in the western part of the Sudanese capital, as the army seeks to cut off supply routes, through which the Rapid Support Forces are trying to bring reinforcements to the city.
Witnesses said that the army launched air strikes and heavy artillery, while ground battles took place in several parts of Omdurman. The Rapid Intervention Forces said they had shot down a fighter jet, and local residents posted videos showing two pilots jumping out of a plane. There was no comment from the army so far.
In addition, the International Organization for Migration said today, Thursday, that nearly three million people have been internally displaced or crossed borders to escape the conflict in Sudan in less than three months.
The latest figures, recorded by the International Organization for Migration’s Displacement Tracking Matrix, show that 700,000 people have sought refuge in Sudan’s neighboring countries, in addition to more than 2.2 million people who have been internally displaced.
The figures reported by the United Nations News Center indicate that the largest displacement movement was from Khartoum with a rate of 67 percent, then Darfur with a rate of 33 percent of the total displaced.
The International Organization for Migration stated that obtaining food, health care and basic relief materials is very difficult, noting that while most of the displaced and refugees live in host communities, more than 280,000 of them live in shelters, including tents, public buildings and primitive shelters, especially in White Nile state.
The figures recorded by the displacement tracking matrix showed that 40 percent of the total number of those fleeing took refuge in Egypt, while 28 percent arrived in Chad, and 21 percent in South Sudan. The rest took refuge in Ethiopia and the Central African Republic.
The organization said in a statement that, according to matrix data, 65 percent of the refugees who crossed the border in the past three months are Sudanese, while refugees returning to their countries from Sudan or other nationalities constituted 35 percent of the total refugees, most of whom live in difficult conditions.
“The organization renews its call for a permanent ceasefire in Sudan and the removal of bureaucratic obstacles to provide safe and secure humanitarian corridors, and to enable the delivery of aid to people in hard-to-reach areas,” said Othman Belbeisi, Regional Director at the International Organization for Migration for the Middle East and North Africa.