Over 5,000 Displaced People Reach Damazin

Thousands of people displaced by attacks in Sudan’s southeastern Blue Nile state have arrived in Damazin, the state capital, amid severe shortages of food, medicine, and shelter.

The Sudan Doctors Network said on Tuesday that the displaced people fled the Geissan area following attacks by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

The group warned that children, women, and elderly people were particularly vulnerable because of limited humanitarian resources available to support the newly displaced population.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said 5,355 people, representing more than 1,000 families, were displaced from Geissan between August 12 and 15 because of deteriorating security conditions.

Local authorities said the Sudanese army had repelled an attack by the RSF and its allied Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) in Geissan, which lies near the Ethiopian border.

The Sudan Doctors Network called on the UN and humanitarian organisations to urgently provide food, clean water, medical supplies, and tents for the displaced population. It also warned that heavy rainfall could worsen the humanitarian situation by increasing health and environmental risks.

The latest displacement adds to Sudan’s wider humanitarian crisis caused by the war between the army and RSF, which began in April 2023. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced about 13 million, according to estimates.

SOURCE: AA