Security Situation Worsens, More than 1,400 People in Sudan Flee in One Day

JAKARTA - More than 1,400 people have fled five villages in Sudan's North Darfur state in a day as the security situation deteriorates, the U.N. migration agency said on Thursday.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a statement that around 1,430 people left the villages of Shatmarta, Sangari, Goz Laban, Dal Barida, and Khair Wajid in the Umbro region on Tuesday due to increased insecurity.

The organization said some refugees moved to other areas in Umbro, while others crossed the border into neighboring Chad, Anadolu (26/6) reported.

It added that the security situation in the area "remains tense and unstable" and that they continue to monitor developments closely.

This latest evacuation comes three days after the IOM reported that around 2,260 people had fled two villages in Umbro due to insecurity.

According to the independent emergency lawyers group, villages in Umbro have been under attack for about a month by paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with attacks including raids on markets, burning villages, and widespread looting.

RSF controls four of Darfur's five states and most of the fifth state, while the Sudanese army continues to control parts of North Darfur as well as most of the other 18 states, including the capital, Khartoum.

Darfur covers about a fifth of Sudan's territory, stretching over 1.8 million square kilometers (695,000 square miles), while most of Sudan's roughly 50 million people live in areas controlled by the army.

Sudan has been embroiled in conflict since April 2023, when fighting broke out between the army and the RSF over plans to integrate paramilitary forces into the military.

The war has triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, killing tens of thousands of people and causing nearly 13 million to flee.