banner-image

Spotlight

14 May 2024

Sudan - Conflict triggers more displacement than in previous 14 years combined

Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted on 15 April 2023, engulfing Sudan in its largest internal displacement crisis since data became available for the country in 2009. The conflict triggered 6 million displacements during the year, more than the previous 14 years combined. It left 9.1 million people internally displaced as of the end of the year, making Sudan the country with the highest number of IDPs globally.

Despite the national scope of the conflict, nearly two-thirds of the internal displacements recorded in 2023 originated from Khartoum state. More than 39 per cent of the state's inhabitants were forced to flee, leaving entire neighbourhoods empty. Most IDPs sought safety with host families in other urban areas, while refugees, mostly from South Sudan, Eritrea and Ethiopia, had to relocate to already overcrowded camps.

Graph of 9.1 million IDPs by conflict and violence as of 31 December 2023