GENEVA — Surging violence in western and southern Sudan forcibly displaced more than 10,000 people within a brutal 72-hour period this week, the United Nations’ migration agency reported on Sunday, underscoring the rapid unraveling of security amid the country’s nearly two-year civil war.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) disclosed that between December 25 and 26, coordinated attacks on the villages of Um Baru and Kernoi, located near Sudan’s volatile western border with Chad, alone displaced over 7,000 individuals. Most fled across the international frontier, joining a growing stream of refugees into Chad, which already hosts hundreds of thousands of Sudanese.
The violence is part of a devastating conflict that erupted in April 2023 between Sudan’s regular army, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The UN has condemned the fighting as a “war of atrocities,” which has killed tens of thousands, unleashed widespread sexual violence, and uprooted more than 11 million people—creating the world’s largest displacement crisis.
Strategic RSF Advance in Darfur
The latest displacements in the west follow a significant strategic push by the RSF. After capturing the North Darfur capital of al-Fashir in October, the paramilitary force has driven westward in recent days through territories inhabited by the Zaghawa ethnic group. These areas are traditionally controlled by militias aligned with the SAF, suggesting a deliberate campaign to consolidate control over all of Darfur.
The conflict spilled directly across the border on Friday, when an RSF drone strike hit the Chadian town of Tine, killing two Chadian soldiers, a military source told Agence France-Presse. The incident marks a dangerous escalation, threatening to draw neighboring states more directly into the conflict and further destabilize the region.
Humanitarian Siege in the South
Simultaneously, in the south, a separate wave of displacement is underway under a dire humanitarian blockade. Between Christmas Eve and Friday, an additional 3,100 people fled the city of Kadugli in South Kordofan, which has been under siege by paramilitary forces for over 18 months. The region is already stricken by famine-like conditions, with aid agencies largely blocked from delivering life-saving assistance.
Fight for the Central Corridor
Resource-rich Kordofan is now the epicenter of the fiercest fighting, as the RSF and its allied militias aim to recapture Sudan’s central corridor. This strategic belt connects the RSF’s stronghold in Darfur eastward toward the national capital, Khartoum. The battle for this corridor is seen as pivotal to determining the future control of the country.
A Nation Torn in Two
The conflict has effectively split Africa’s third-largest nation in two. The SAF controls most of the north, east, and central regions, including the key Port Sudan. Meanwhile, the RSF now dominates all five state capitals in Darfur and, alongside its allies, holds significant territory in Kordofan and parts of the south.
International Response and Warnings
UN agencies and humanitarian organizations have issued increasingly urgent warnings. The conflict has triggered the world’s largest hunger crisis, with nearly 25 million people—over half the population—requiring aid. The World Food Programme has cautioned that the lean season starting in April could bring “catastrophic levels of hunger” unless a major humanitarian response is mounted and access is granted.
“These new displacement figures in just three days are a terrifying snapshot of the relentless violence facing civilians,” said IOM spokesperson James Weatherill. “Without a ceasefire and unhindered humanitarian access, the suffering will reach incomprehensible levels.”
The international community continues to call for a negotiated peace, but mediation efforts led by regional and global actors have so far failed to stop the fighting, leaving millions of Sudanese trapped in a spiraling humanitarian nightmare.