Sudanese undertake an exodus from Khartoum taking advantage of international evacuations

Clashes displace tens of thousands of people across the country under threat of attacks, looting and sexual violence

23 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –

Khartoum residents began a massive exodus this weekend to escape the Sudanese capital, taking advantage of the reduction in fighting between the Army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) due to international evacuation operations.

The pan-Arab network Al Jazeera reports movements from the capital to the east, towards the coast of Port Sudan, and north towards Egypt, the latter a very dangerous route, where caravans of civilians are being victims of attacks and looting.

This movement, added to the tens of thousands of people who are still trapped in their homes, has caused the capital to be a “ghost city” right now, according to the chain’s correspondent.

The United Nations has evidence of displacements of civilians in the states of Khartoum, North, Blue Nile, North Kordofan, North Darfur, West Darfur and South Darfur, and cross-border movements have been observed from Sudan to Chad, Egypt and South Sudan. South.

For example, around 2,000 Sudanese have crossed the border with South Sudan fleeing the fighting that broke out on April 15, and which has already left more than 600 dead, as confirmed by the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

“Many of the people who have arrived had the means to achieve it,” said the organization’s representative in South Sudan, Peter van der Auwereert, before pointing out that the IOM “hopes that the most vulnerable will arrive later.”

In North Darfur, between 3,500 and 3,750 people (700 to 750 households) have been displaced from multiple villages in the town of Tawila, fleeing their areas for fear of insecurity.

The displaced are currently seeking refuge in the Rwandan and Dali displaced persons camps in the town of Tawila, according to IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM).

In Aj Jazirah state, since 21 April, between 500 and 750 people (100 to 150 households) have been displaced after clashes in the villages of Albageer Este, Benuie, Al Mahali and En Nuba in the town of Al Kamlin .

In Blue Nile, intercommunal clashes broke out between the Hausa and Funj communities on 21 April in Geisan village 8, resulting in nine deaths and four injuries. Between 4,000 and 4,500 people have reportedly been displaced from the village to the Al Gassam neighborhood in the town of Ed Damazine.

Likewise, the United Nations warns that it is beginning to receive information on sexual and gender violence. UN Women, in this regard, has called on all parties to ensure that no women or girls are affected by these crimes, and on all actors to spare no effort to mitigate the increased risk.