GENEVA: One year since the conflict in Sudan erupted, thousands of desperate people are still fleeing the country daily “as if the emergency had started yesterday,” the UN said Tuesday.
More than 8.5 million people have fled their homes since the fighting broke out, with nearly 1.8 million having escaped across the country’s borders.
“A year on, the war in Sudan continues to rage, with the country and its neighbors experiencing one of the largest and most challenging humanitarian and displacement crises in the world,” said Olga Sarrado Mur, spokeswoman for the United Nations’ refugee agency UNHCR.
“The ongoing conflict has shattered people’s lives, filling them with fear and loss. Attacks on civilians, and conflict-related sexual and gender-based violence, continue unabated,” she told a press briefing in Geneva.
“Sudan has experienced the almost complete destruction of its urban middle class: architects, doctors, teachers, nurses, engineers and students have lost everything,” she added.
Fighting in Sudan erupted on April 15 last year between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The conflict has killed thousands and has sparked a humanitarian disaster.
“Thousands are crossing borders daily as if the emergency had started yesterday,” Sarrado Mur said.
Those fleeing the country, mostly women and children, are arriving in remote areas across the borders “with little to nothing and in desperate need of food, water, shelter and medical care,” she added.
“As the conflict continues, and the lack of assistance and opportunities deepens, more people will be forced to flee Sudan to neighboring countries or to move further.”
The humanitarian response plan for inside Sudan is so far six percent funded, while the 2024 regional refugee response plan is seven percent funded.
The war has destroyed Sudan’s already fragile infrastructure and pushed the country to the brink of famine.
Marie-Helene Verney, UNHCR’s representative in South Sudan, said 635,000 people had arrived in the country since April 15 — the equivalent of five percent of the country’s population.
“This is the world’s poorest country, so you can imagine the pressure,” she said, via video-link from the capital Juba.
Verney said many refugees were urban, educated and middle class, with professional skills that UNHCR is trying to match to shortages in South Sudan, notably in health and education.
“The biggest challenge that we face is really the relentlessness of this crisis... it could get worse before it gets better,” she said.
A lot of unaccompanied children were coming, and single women with “heartbreaking stories” of sexual violence en route, she added.
On Monday, UN human rights chief Volker Turk said the current situation in Sudan concerning sexual and gender-based violence was “absolutely horrific.”
“It is committed by all parties to the conflict in this absolutely senseless war,” he said.
Ahead of the anniversary, the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement has meanwhile called on all parties in the conflict to protect civilians and those who can no longer fight.
“When homes, hospitals, and schools are damaged, and people who are not part of the fight are hurt, it not only causes immediate harm but also makes it much harder for communities to heal,” the movement said.
Thousands still fleeing Sudan conflict daily, one year on: UN
https://arab.news/2bafg
Thousands still fleeing Sudan conflict daily, one year on: UN
- The war has destroyed Sudan’s already fragile infrastructure and pushed the country to the brink of famine
- Marie-Helene Verney, UNHCR’s representative in South Sudan, said 635,000 people had arrived in the country since April 15
Israel to partially reopen Gaza’s Rafah crossing
- Reopening comes amid ongoing violence in the Palestinian territory
- Gaza’s civil defense agency says dozens killed in Israeli attacks on Saturday
RAFAH, Palestinian Territories: Israel is set to partially reopen the Rafah crossing between the war-devastated Gaza Strip and Egypt on Sunday, following months of urging from humanitarian organizations, though access will be limited to the movement of people.
The reopening comes amid ongoing violence in the Palestinian territory, with Gaza’s civil defense agency reporting dozens killed in Israeli attacks on Saturday, while the Israeli military said it was retaliating against ceasefire violations.
The Rafah crossing is a vital gateway for both civilians and aid, but has remained closed since Israeli forces seized control of it in May 2024 during the war with Hamas, aside from a brief and limited reopening in early 2025.
Israel had previously said it would not reopen the crossing until the remains of Ran Gvili — the last Israeli hostage held in Gaza — were returned.
His remains were recovered days ago and he was laid to rest in Israel on Wednesday.
“The Rafah Crossing will open this coming Sunday (February 1st) in both directions, for limited movement of people only,” COGAT, an Israeli defense ministry body overseeing civil affairs in the occupied Palestinian territories, said on Friday.
Entry and exit “will be permitted in coordination with Egypt, following prior security clearance of individuals by Israel, and under the supervision of the European Union mission,” it added.
However, key details remain unclear, including how many people will be allowed to cross and whether those seeking to return to Gaza will be permitted entry.
A source at the border told AFP that Sunday would be largely devoted to preparations and logistical arrangements.
The crossing is set to open on Sunday on a trial basis to allow the passage of wounded individuals, ahead of a regular reopening scheduled for Monday, three sources at the crossing said.
However, no agreement has yet been reached on the number of Palestinians permitted to enter or exit, the sources added, noting that Egypt plans to admit “all Palestinians whom Israel authorizes to leave” the territory.
“Every day that passes drains my life and worsens my condition,” said Mohammed Shamiya, 33, who suffers from kidney disease and requires dialysis treatment abroad.
“I’m waiting every moment for the opening of the Rafah land crossing.”
Anxious wait
Safa Al-Hawajri, who has received a scholarship to study overseas, is also eagerly awaiting the reopening on Sunday.
“I’m waiting in the hope of fulfilling my ambition, which is tied to the reopening of the crossing,” said Hawajri, 18.
“I hope to be able to travel as soon as it opens.”
Located on Gaza’s southern border with Egypt, Rafah is the only crossing into and out of the territory that does not pass through Israel.
The crossing lies in an area held by Israeli forces following their withdrawal behind the so-called “Yellow Line” under the terms of a US-brokered ceasefire that came into effect on October 10.
Israeli troops still control more than half of Gaza, while the rest remains under Hamas authority.
The ceasefire has now entered its second phase and calls for reopening the crossing following the release or return of all Israeli hostages held by Palestinian militants.
Hamas had called for its full reopening in both directions after the remains of Gvili were brought back to Israel.
The reopening is expected to facilitate the entry of a 15-member Palestinian technocratic body, the National Committee for the Administration of Gaza (NCAG), established to oversee the day-to-day governance of the territory’s 2.2 million residents.
The committee is to operate under the supervision of the so-called “Board of Peace” chaired by US President Donald Trump.
The NCAG, headed by former Palestinian Authority deputy minister Ali Shaath, is expected to enter the Gaza Strip once the Rafah crossing reopens.
Violence continued ahead of the crossing’s reopening.
At least 32 people, including children, were killed on Saturday in Israeli air strikes in Gaza, reported the civil defense agency, which operates as a rescue force under the Hamas authority.
Israel’s military said the strikes were retaliation for an incident on Friday in which eight Palestinian fighters exited a tunnel in the city of Rafah, which it said violated the ceasefire.
