By Anjali Sharma
UNITED NATIONS – UN International Organization for Migration reported on Thursday that for the first time in two years of brutal Sudanese conflict the number of internally displaced has fallen.
According to apress release issued by IOM, Sudan remains one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with millions facing famine, disease and insecurity.
IOM data showed that between December last year and March, displacement fell by 2.4 per cent with 400,000 people returning to their places of origin in Aj Jazirah, Sennar and Khartoum states.
The agency said the decrease signals a hopeful shift, it does not necessarily indicate improved conditions.
Many are heading back to towns and villages devastated by months of war, where food, shelter and basic services are virtually non-existent.
Mohamed Refaat, head of the IOM country team in Sudan, warned that while many people are eager to return home, “the conditions for safe and sustainable return and integration are not yet in place.”
“Basic services including healthcare, protection, education, and food are scarce, and the lack of functional infrastructure and financial capacity will make it difficult for families to rebuild their lives.”
It said that a quarter of health facilities in the worst-affected areas remain functional the rest have been destroyed, severely damaged or abandoned amid fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and their affiliated militias.
UN relief coordination office said that over 30.4 million people half of Sudan’s population require urgent assistance.
Food insecurity is at catastrophic levels, with 24.6 million people facing acute hunger, OCHA said.
OCHA stressed that famine has been confirmed in parts of North Darfur and the Nuba Mountains, and similar conditions are expected to spread in the coming months.
Across Sudan, there are 11.3 million IDPs one of the largest displacement crises in the world, while nearly four million have fled to neighboring countries primarily Egypt, South Sudan and Chad.
UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said that the OCHA is closely monitoring the latest shifts in control within Khartoum in alarming reports of reprisals by armed groups against civilians.
Sudan’s army retook the capital and reportedly drove RSF troops south.
Mr. Dujarric reiterated that civilians must never be targeted and called on all parties to adhere to their obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law.
“Serious violations must be investigated, with perpetrators held to account,” he said.
Women and children remain vulnerable across Sudan with UN agencies reporting an alarming rise in conflict-related sexual violence against women and girls.
Over half of all displaced persons are children, and four million children under five along with pregnant and breastfeeding women are suffering from acute malnutrition.
UN agencies reported grave violations against children have surged with an 83 per cent increase in child casualties since January, compared to the first quarter of 2024.
Over 17 million children are out of school, as the conflict has disrupted the education system nationwide.
The response from humanitarian agencies has been severely hampered by a drastic funding shortfall to meet the growing needs
OCHA said only about $276 million (6.6 per cent) of the $4.2 billion required for the overall humanitarian response has been received.
IOM’s Sudan response plan to assist 1.7 million people, is only 6% funded.
Mr. Refaat warned that “Nearly two years of relentless conflict in Sudan have inflicted immense suffering, triggered the world’ largest and most devastating humanitarian crisis,”
“Recent cuts in international humanitarian aid budgets are compounding the crisis and deepening the suffering,” he concluded.
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