A spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Matthew Saltmarch, revealed today that "over one million people have been displaced due to the ongoing fighting in Sudan, including a quarter million refugees." He noted that "the figure includes about 843,000 internally displaced persons and nearly 250,000 who have fled the country across borders."
Saltmarch added: "Many are suffering from dire conditions, having faced violence or traumatic circumstances in Sudan and endured arduous journeys," pointing out that "the rate of refugee influx has increased in recent weeks, with nearly five thousand arriving daily in Egypt."
**Renewed Clashes**
Airstrikes on the Sudanese capital, Khartoum, and the neighboring city of Bahri resumed today as the war between the army and the Rapid Support Forces enters its fifth week, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis for trapped and displaced civilians. Eyewitnesses reported that looting by large numbers of armed men and civilians alike is compounding the misery for besieged residents in Khartoum amidst the fierce fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary forces.
Airstrikes targeted areas in eastern Khartoum. Witnesses reported hearing anti-aircraft fire employed by the Rapid Support Forces. Bahri and East Nile, on the opposite side of the Nile from Khartoum, were also subjected to airstrikes last night and this morning.
**Corpses Everywhere**
Ahmad, a young man making his way through Bahri, stated that he saw about 30 military trucks destroyed by airstrikes on the road. He added that he witnessed corpses everywhere, some belonging to army soldiers and others to members of the Rapid Support Forces, with some showing signs of decomposition, describing the scene as horrifying.
Rapid Support Forces have taken up positions in residential areas throughout much of Khartoum, Bahri, and neighboring Omdurman, prompting the army to conduct near-constant airstrikes. Witnesses reported that the army has also begun to erect barriers on some roads in southern Khartoum to keep the Rapid Support Forces away from an important military base there.
Fighting has also erupted in Nyala, the capital of South Darfur and one of the largest cities in the country, for the second consecutive day after a period of relative calm lasting weeks. Heavy artillery shelling caused explosions in the morning and continued throughout the day. Local activists reported that a fire broke out in a local market, and several people were killed, while the injured faced difficulties reaching hospitals. Attacks by local groups and subsequent clashes in the city of Geneina in West Darfur have claimed hundreds of lives.
**Jeddah Summit**
At the Arab League summit today, Sudan's envoy accused the Rapid Support Forces of looting, rape, and violating ceasefires one after another. Sudan's special envoy to the transitional sovereign council, Dafallah Al-Haj, stated, "We trust that Arab countries will support Sudan to contain the current crisis and accompany it in the next phase of reconstruction."
**Talks**
Ceasefire talks, sponsored by Saudi Arabia and the United States, continue without any breakthroughs in the city of Jeddah. The conflict is also one of the main agenda items at the Arab League summit currently taking place in Saudi Arabia. With the outbreak of fighting, law and order have collapsed, and looting has spread to homes, factories, gold markets, banks, cars, and churches. Both sides of the conflict are exchanging accusations over this.
The rapid decline in stocks of food, cash, and other essentials has led to many looting and pillaging incidents. Sarah Abdel Azim, a 35-year-old government employee in Khartoum, lamented the lack of protection for citizens, saying, "No one protects us; there is no police, there is no state; thieves are attacking and robbing our homes and everything we have."
Approximately 705 people have been killed in the conflict, and at least 5,287 have been injured, according to the World Health Organization. Samantha Power, the director of the U.S. Agency for International Development, traveled to Chad yesterday, where tens of thousands have fled due to the fighting.
**Egypt**
Egypt has so far received the highest number of Sudanese refugees, with around 110,000 arriving since the outbreak of the conflict. Refugees are also flowing into neighboring countries, including Chad, Ethiopia, and South Sudan, which are already facing humanitarian crises and lack sufficient funding to address them. The army and the Rapid Support Forces have been fighting for weeks, leading to hundreds of deaths and turning the streets of Khartoum into war zones.
