Over 700,000 displaced within Sudan since mid-April

AFP | Geneva                                                             

The Daily Tribune – www.newsofbahrain.com

Heavy fighting in Sudan has displaced 700,000 people within the country since the middle of April, the United Nations said on Tuesday, adding the figure had doubled in a week.

Sudan was thrown into chaos when fighting broke out on April 15 between the forces of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and his deputy turned rival Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, who heads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). At least 750 people have died.

"There are now more than 700,000 internally displaced by the fighting which began on April 15," Paul Dillon, spokesman for the International Organization for Migration said. "Last Tuesday, the figure stood at 340,000," he added.

Even before the beginning of the fighting, 3.7 million people were registered as internally displaced in Sudan, added Dillon.

Another 150,000 people have fled the country since the beginning of the conflict, according to numbers released by the UN refugee agency on Monday.

The latest truce talks in Saudi Arabia yielded no progress, with a Saudi diplomat saying both sides consider themselves "capable of winning the battle".

"Many IDPs are sheltering with relatives, while others are gathering in schools, mosques and public buildings," said Dillon.

He said IOM was "conscious of the enormous pressures" placed on host communities "already suffering from the effects of more than three weeks of fighting".