3 months of violence in Sudan displaces over 3 mn people: UN

Khartoum, July 13 (IANS) Since the ongoing violence erupted in Sudan in April, more than 3 million people, roughly half of them children, have been displaced from their homes, according to the UN humanitarians.

In its latest situation update, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the Unicef reported about 1.5 million children are living away from home, although some are still in Sudan, reports Xinhua news agency.

Overall, one in every two children in Sudan, approximately 13.6 million, needs urgent humanitarian assistance.

Since the conflict began, Unicef has provided health supplies to more than 3 million children and women, as well as safe drinking water to some 1.4 million people, OCHA said.

It added that nearly 100,000 children attend safe learning spaces, including solar-powered centres.

The Office further said the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported more than 2.4 million people were displaced across all 18 Sudanese states, with the majority in River Nile, North, White Nile and Sennar.

Nearly three-quarters of those displaced originally fled the capital Khartoum.

The UN Refugee Agency reported more than 650,000 people sought shelter in neighboring countries from the fighting in Sudan, OCHA said.

Also in an update, the IOM said that more than 64,000 people from Sudan had arrived in Ethiopia earlier this week through multiple border crossing points in the country's Amhara, Benishangul Gumz and Gambella regions.

Amid the increasing number of people crossing into Ethiopia, the IOM said heavy rain have made the conditions and terrains very difficult for aid workers to provide timely support.

The IOM said it has scaled up its presence at border crossing points and its migration response centre in Metema, the major crossing point, providing multi-sectoral assistance to arriving people, including health, water and sanitation, mental health and psychosocial support, onward transportation, as well as tailored protection assistance.

Brutal fighting erupted in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital, on April 15 and swiftly escalated in different parts of the country.

The ongoing fighting is pitting the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the paramilitary group.

Both sides have accused each other of initiating the conflict.

Deep differences had emerged between the SAF and the RSF, particularly regarding the latter's integration into the army as stipulated in a framework agreement signed between military and civilian leaders on December 5, 2022.

Some 3,000 to 5,000 people have died so far, with more than 8,000 others injured.