The United Nations has expressed concern about the increase in fighting in Sudan and the refugee movements it has triggered. A spokesman for the refugee agency UNHCR spoke today in Geneva about the panic among residents of the town of Wad Madani in the east of the country.
Since the latest fighting began last week, around 300,000 people have fled Wad Madani and surrounding areas, some on foot. Fighting has been ongoing for days in the Sudanese state of al-Jazirah, southeast of the capital Khartoum.
Hundreds of thousands fled Khartoum
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary militia is particularly trying to take control of Wad Madani. Since the start of the conflict, more than half a million people have fled here, especially from Khartoum.
Authorities in Wad Madani have now declared a state of emergency, said a spokesperson for the UN emergency relief organization OCHA. Because of the violence, all humanitarian measures had to be stopped. Health care is also dramatic – in regions affected by the conflict, 70 percent of hospitals are no longer functioning.