Part of the Sudanese civil war (2023–present) | |
Date | 15 April 2023 – present |
---|---|
Location | |
Displaced | 12 million [1] [2] [3] |
An ongoing refugee crisis began in Africa in mid-April 2023 after the outbreak of the Sudanese civil war. By June 2024, around 2.1 million people have fled the country, while around 12 million [4] [5] have been internally displaced within Sudan; these numbers include at least 75,000 migrant returnees and other third-country nationals, making the refugee and displacement crisis in Sudan the largest in African history. [6] [7]
The vast majority of these civilians entered the neighboring country of Chad with the United Nations reporting most of these people came from Darfur and Khartoum, but thousands more moved to other countries. By May 2024, the UN reported at least 675,000 refugees in South Sudan, 500,000-550,000 in Egypt, 75,000 people in Ethiopia, 30,000 in the Central African Republic, 600,000 in Chad, and 3,500 in Libya. [8] Several people were reportedly stuck or displaced across the country due to the increase in violence and a humanitarian crisis which had affected 25 million people, equivalent to more than half of Sudan’s population, across the whole country. [9]
On 15 April 2023, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched a surprise attack on multiple Sudanese Army bases across the country, including in the capital Khartoum. [10] RSF forces claimed to have captured Khartoum International Airport, Merowe Airport, El Obeid Airport as well as a base in Soba. Clashes between the RSF and the SAF erupted at the Presidential Palace and at the residence of General al-Burhan, with both sides claiming control over the two sites. In response, the SAF announced the closure of all airports in the country, and the Sudanese Air Force conducted airstrikes on RSF positions in Khartoum with artillery fire being heard in different parts of the city. [10] Fighting continued in the following weeks and spread to the Darfur region, which was recovering from an internal conflict and genocide in the 2000s, and in the Kordofan region, where remnants of South Sudanese separatist groups joined sides with either the SAF or the RSF.
Before the conflict, thousands of refugees had fled Sudan during old conflicts, mainly its civil wars or the wars in Darfur leaving at least 400,000 Sudanese across the Chadian border and hundreds of thousands more in neighboring countries such as South Sudan and Egypt. [11] [12]
The United Nations said on 23 December that the fighting in Sudan had produced 5.6 million internally displaced persons. [13] 1.7 million of them were reported to have from Khartoum alone. [14] Some of them faced difficulties such as the presence of roadblocks and robberies along the roads. [15] The Norwegian Refugee Council said that there were about 300 refugees from Khartoum who had fled southeast to El-Gadarif. [16] 3,000 refugees from Khartoum fled to Tunay bah refugee camp, which already hosts 28,000 Ethiopian refugees, in eastern Sudan, while at least 20,000 fled to Wad Madani. [17] Up to 260,000 people fled to White Nile State, which borders South Sudan. [14] Up to 37,000 people were thought to have been displaced across Nyala, the capital of South Darfur. [18] The IOM said that all of Sudan's 18 states experienced displacement, with most refugees coming from Khartoum, which accounted for about 69 percent of the total number of displaced people, [19] followed by West Darfur with more than 17 percent. [20]
More than 32,000 people were internally displaced when fighting between the SAF and the rebel SPLM-N (al-Hilu faction) broke out in Blue Nile State in June, [21] while 83,000 were displaced in South Kordofan. [22]
On 15 April, Chad reported thousands of refugees coming past the now closed border between the nation and Sudan. Over the following days the UN reported a massive influx of refugees crossing mainly from Darfur amounting to 20,000 people by 19 April, [23] more than 90,000 by late May, [24] [25] 115,000 by June, [26] and 239,000 by July. [27] The UN announced later on that the refugees lacked basic needs such as food and shelter. Reports also suggested that the majority of them were women and children. [28] More than 160,000 of them were members of the Masalit ethnic group who were fleeing ethnically-based attacks by the RSF and allied militias. [29] By August, the number of refugees had reached over 414,000, making it the single largest host country for refugees from the conflict. [8]
On 24 April 2023, South Sudan's Renk County reported thousands of refugees seeking shelter in the country. Authorities estimated the volume of refugees to be at least 10,000 people, three-quarters of whom were South Sudanese who had previously fled north to escape internal conflicts and the rest consisting of Sudanese and other African nationals. [30] The refugees were primarily women and children who also lacked several basic needs. [31] Authorities reported that the refugees included South Sudanese, Sudanese, Ugandan, Kenyan, Eritrean and Somali nationals. [32] By June, the number of refugees had risen to over 115,000, [6] and more than 259,000 by September. [33]
On 23 April 2023, hundreds of civilians were reported to have arrived at the Egyptian border mainly in buses, with most of them again being women and children who had fled from war-torn cities. These people were given asylum and Egypt urged civilians to go to its land border crossing at Wadi Halfa or to Port Sudan for evacuation or safety. [34] [35] Egypt said that 42,300 people, 40,000 of whom were Sudanese, had entered the country from Sudan. [25] The number increased to 64,000 by 9 May. [36] Two camps operated by the Red Crescent were set up to provide aid to refugees. [37] By August, the UN estimated the total number of refugees in Egypt at 285,000. [8] Following the imposition of visa requirements on 10 June for all Sudanese citizens, 12,000 families were stranded in the Wadi Halfa border crossing while their visas were being processed by the Egyptian consulate. [6] Within 19 months of conflict, Egypt had received over 1.2 million Sudanese refugees. [38]
More than 75,000 people fled to Ethiopia, [8] including 1,400 Turkish nationals. [39] The country later started receiving up to 3,000 refugees when fighting between the SAF and the SPLM-N (al-Hilu) broke out in June, [21] while 25,000 others were stranded at the Sudanese side of the border by September. [40] About 17,000 people fled to the Central African Republic, while at least 3,500 fled to Libya. [8] About 3,000 people were evacuated to Djibouti. [41]
Criticism was levelled at diplomatic missions operating in Sudan for their slow response in helping Sudanese visa applicants whose passports were left behind in embassies following their closure during evacuation efforts, preventing them from leaving the country. [42] The latest report issued at the end of 2024 stated that 30.4 million people in Sudan are in need of humanitarian aid. [43] [44]
On 7 May 2023, The Guardian reported that hundreds of Eritrean refugees had been taken away from camps near the Eritrean-Sudanese border. Several Eritrean civilians said the Eritrean Army had taken several civilians back into the country forcefully. Some of those detained were reported to be political refugees who had fled the Afwerki regime and forced conscription in the national army. 95 people were sentenced to prison with severe punishments ahead of them, eight being women. [45]
Ethiopians who fled to Sudan as refugees of the Tigray War would sometimes find themselves victimized again upon arrival, this time by human traffickers. A number of refugees had testified to being kidnapped, regularly tortured, and transported to warehouses in Libya, where many would die due to poor living conditions. [46] This situation worsened further after Sudan itself descended into violence in 2023, placing them at further risk of being kidnapped. [46] [47]
The Janjaweed are an Arab nomad militia group operating in the Sahel region that operates in Sudan, particularly in Darfur and eastern Chad. They are also active in Yemen due to participating in the Saudi Arabian–led intervention in Yemen. According to the United Nations definition, Janjaweed membership consists of Arab nomad tribes from the Sahel, the core of whom are Abbala Arabs, traditionally employed in camel herding, with significant recruitment from the Baggara.
The War in Darfur, also nicknamed the Land Cruiser War, was a major armed conflict in the Darfur region of Sudan that began in February 2003 when the Sudan Liberation Movement (SLM) and the Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) rebel groups began fighting against the government of Sudan, which they accused of oppressing Darfur's non-Arab population. The government responded to attacks by carrying out a campaign of ethnic cleansing against Darfur's non-Arabs. This resulted in the death of hundreds of thousands of civilians and the indictment of Sudan's president, Omar al-Bashir, for genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity by the International Criminal Court.
Sudanese refugees are people originating from the country of Sudan, seeking refuge outside the borders of their native country. In recent history, Sudan has been the stage for prolonged conflicts and civil wars, as well as environmental changes, namely desertification. These forces have resulted not only in violence and famine but also the forced migration of large numbers of the Sudanese population, both inside and outside the country's borders. Given the expansive geographic territory of Sudan, and the regional and ethnic tensions and conflicts, much of the forced migration in Sudan has been internal. Yet, these populations are not immune to similar issues that typically accompany refugeedom, including economic hardship and providing themselves and their families with sustenance and basic needs. With the creation of a South Sudanese state, questions surrounding southern Sudanese IDPs may become questions of South Sudanese refugees.
By January 2011 the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated that there are 262,900 Sudanese refugees in Chad. The majority of them left Sudan escaping from the violence of the ongoing Darfur crisis, which began in 2003. UNHCR has given the Sudanese refugees shelter in 12 different camps situated along the Chad–Sudan border. The most pressing issues UNHCR has to deal with in the refugee camps in Chad are related to insecurity in the camps, malnutrition, access to water, HIV and AIDS, and education.
The Rapid Support Forces is a paramilitary force formerly operated by the government of Sudan. The RSF grew out of, and is primarily composed of, the Janjaweed militias which previously fought on behalf of the Sudanese government. Its actions in Darfur were deemed crimes against humanity by Human Rights Watch.
The Darfur genocide was the systematic killing of ethnic Darfuri people during the War in Darfur. The genocide, which was carried out against the Fur, Masalit and Zaghawa ethnic groups, led the International Criminal Court (ICC) to indict several people for crimes against humanity, rape, forced transfer and torture. An estimated 200,000 people were killed between 2003 and 2005. Other sources estimate that between 2003 and 2008, the conflict resulted in about 300,000 civilian deaths and about 2.7 million displaced civilians.
Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, generally referred to mononymously as Hemedti, is a Sudanese military officer and the current head of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). A Janjaweed leader from the Rizeigat tribe in Darfur, he was the Deputy head of the Transitional Military Council (TMC) following the 2019 Sudanese coup d'état. Since 2013, Hemetti has commanded the RSF. He was considered by The Economist to be the most powerful person in Sudan as of early July 2019.
The following lists events during 2023 in the Republic of the Sudan.
A civil war between two major rival factions of the military government of Sudan, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) under Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and its allies under the Janjaweed leader Hemedti, began during Ramadan on 15 April 2023. Three minor (neutral) factions have also participated in the fighting: the Darfur Joint Protection Force; the SLM (al-Nur) under Abdul Wahid al-Nur; and the SPLM-N under Abdelaziz al-Hilu. Fighting has been concentrated around the capital city of Khartoum and the Darfur region. As of 14 November 2024, at least 61,000 people had been killed in Khartoum State alone, of which 26,000 were a direct result of the violence. As of 5 July 2024, over 7.7 million were internally displaced and more than 2.1 million others had fled the country as refugees, and many civilians in Darfur have been reported dead as part of the Masalit massacres.
The Geneina massacre, also the Battle of Geneina, was a series of major battles for control of Geneina, the capital of West Darfur in Sudan, between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias against Masalit self-defense militias and the Sudanese Alliance. The battles primarily lasted between April 24 and June 14, 2023, with major attacks and massacres by the RSF and allied militias on Masalit civilians in the city. After the killing of West Darfur governor Khamis Abakar on June 14, thousands of Masalit civilians were slaughtered in the city between June 14 and June 22 by the RSF and allied militias.
The Darfur campaign or Darfur offensive is a theatre of operation in the war in Sudan that affects five states in Darfur: South Darfur, East Darfur, North Darfur, Central Darfur and West Darfur. The offensive mainly started on 15 April 2023 in West Darfur where the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) forces captured Geneina, the conflict came after several days of high tensions between the forces and the government.
The following is a timeline of the Sudanese civil war (2023–present) in 2023.
The humanitarian crisis following the 2023 Sudan conflict was further exacerbated by the violence occurring during a period of high temperatures, drought and the conflict starting during the latter part of the fasting month of Ramadan. Most residents were unable to venture outside of their homes to obtain food and supplies for fear of getting caught in the crossfire. A doctors' group said that hospitals remained understaffed and were running low on supplies as wounded people streamed in. The World Health Organization recorded around 26 attacks on healthcare facilities, some of which resulted in casualties among medical workers and civilians. The Sudanese Doctors' Union said more than two-thirds of hospitals in conflict areas were out of service with 32 forcibly evacuated by soldiers or caught in the crossfire. The United Nations reported that shortages of basic goods, such as food, water, medicines and fuel have become "extremely acute". The delivery of badly-needed remittances from overseas migrant workers was also halted after Western Union announced it was closing all operations in Sudan until further notice.
The deportation of Eritreans from Sudan is the ongoing forced transfer of nearly an estimated 3,500 Eritreans and Sudanese-Eritreans from Sudan mainly at the border between both countries in the war in Sudan. On 7 May 2023, reports by The Guardian were released stating that hundreds of Eritreans had been taken away from their refugee camps near the Eritrean-Sudanese border. Several of the citizens being deported were reported to be Eritrean men who had fled the Eritrean army after being conscripted. Several women were also reported to be arrested.
The siege of El Fasher is an ongoing battle for control of the town of El Fasher in North Darfur during the Sudan conflict. The first battle for the city took place between 15 and 20 April 2023, and resulted in a ceasefire that held until 12 May. Clashes broke out again between 12 and 29 May, and ended with a more stable ceasefire that lasted until August. By September, the city had become a haven for refugees across the region, without enough food and water.
The Treaty of Jeddah or Jeddah Declaration is an international agreement that was made to make peace in Sudan. The Treaty of Jeddah, which was signed by the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan and representatives of both warring sides on 20 May 2023, entered into force 48 hours later on 22 May 2023. The agreement was intended to facilitate a week-long ceasefire and the distribution of humanitarian aid within the country. The agreement expired suddenly after a surge of clashes on 23 May 2023, a day after the agreement came into effect. With the actual date of expiry being 27 May 2023, the nations agreed on an extension for five days but was shortened due to the agreement's ineffectiveness.
The civil war in Sudan, which started on 15 April 2023, has seen widespread war crimes committed by both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with the RSF being singled out by the Human Rights Watch, and the United Kingdom and United States governments for committing genocide, ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity.
The following lists events during 2024 in the Republic of the Sudan.
Throughout 2024, the population of Sudan suffered from severe malnutrition and famine conditions as a result of the Sudanese civil war beginning in 2023, primarily in Darfur, Kordofan, and neighboring refugee-taking nations such as Chad. On 1 August, the Global Famine Review Committee released a report officially declaring that it was possible that IPC Phase 5 famine conditions were ongoing in North Darfur near Al-Fashir and there was a high risk of similar conditions throughout internally displaced persons (IDP) camps. Human rights groups say famine conditions were caused in part by deliberate attempts by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to siege and loot cities with civilians trapped in them and by both sides blocking off supply routes making it difficult to allow food and humanitarian aid to flow through. More than 1,050 deaths have been caused by the famine and over 9 million people have been displaced as a result of the famine and war.