The United Nations Office at Geneva
Multimedia Newsroom
Sudan displacement doubles in one week, says IOM
The number of internally displaced persons in Sudan has more than doubled in the last week, with more than 700,000 people internally displaced since armed clashes erupted between the Sudanese Army Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in multiple cities across Sudan, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday.
Speaking at a press briefing at the United Nations in Geneva, IOM’s spokesperson Paul Dillon said that “the number of people internally displaced in Sudan has more than doubled in the last week, according to data that has been collected by the International Organization for Migration’s Displacement Tracking Matrix”.
Mr. Dillon added that more than 700,000 people were now internally displaced by the fighting, which began on 15 April.
The number of internally displaced persons increased in many areas, including the capital, where clashes were continuing. IOM’s Paul Dillon told that “last Tuesday, the figure stood at 340,000. And, of course, prior to the fighting, an estimated 3.7 million people were internally displaced in Sudan.”
Responding to a question about where internally displaced persons were heading, Mr. Dillon said the data was currently preliminary and being analysed. They were moving into multiple states, including White Nile and Khartoum. Decisions to move were influenced by many different factors, including whether there was conflict in the area. However, it was difficult for the people to find money since cash distributors are not working and the banking system is not functioning. Fuel is difficult to come by and expensive, according to IOM.
“The IOM has stock of non-food items in six warehouses around the country,” said the IOM spokesperson. “But to date, we have been unable to deliver to those in need. The fighting must end and humanitarians must be allowed to resume their work, providing assistance to those most in need before the situation spirals further out of control.”
Last night United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres condemned looting at the main compound of the UN World Food Programme (WFP) in Khartoum over the weekend. This was the latest targeting of humanitarian facilities since the start of the crisis, now into its fourth week. Most, if not all, United Nations agencies and its humanitarian partners had been impacted by large-scale looting.
“At this point, we don't have any information, we aren't even able to confirm the extent of the looting in the Khartoum office, but reiterate that the food, the vehicles, the fuel, the assets that have been looted from WFP, you know, go towards the response for the people in Sudan. And this directly hurts the people of Sudan,” said Isheeta Sumra, WFP’s Communications Officer speaking from the agency's headquarters in Rome.
The UN World Health Organization (WHO) also reported attacks and looting of health care facilities in Sudan.
“Since 15 April, WHO has verified 28 attacks on health, leading to eight deaths and 18 injuries. More reports are under verification,” said WHO spokesperson Tarik Jašarević. “These attacks include looting, obstruction of access to health care, violent attacks using weapons and the forced occupation of facilities. Unfortunately, the looting is affecting health care facilities. And this is something that severely undermines the possibility of Sudanese people to seek health care.”
At the same briefing, the WHO said 604 people had been killed and more than 5,000 injured since the violence erupted in mid April between the rival armed factions. The latest casualty figures were released by the Sudanese Ministry of Health.
-ends-
STORY: Sudan Update: IOM – WFP - WHO
TRT: 02’23”
SOURCE: UNTV CH
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH/NATS
ASPECT RATIO: 16:9
RELEASE DATE: 09 May 2023
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND
SHOTLIST
- Exterior wide shot: UN flag alley UN Geneva
- Wide shot of journalists, conference room, Palais des Nations, Geneva
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) - Paul Dillon, Spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration (IOM): “The number of people internally displaced in Sudan has more than doubled in the last week, according to data that has been collected by the International Organization for Migration’s Displacement Tracking Matrix. Now, more than 700,000 people are now internally displaced by the fighting, which began on the 15th of April.”
- Medium shot of technician, speaker and podium in the background, conference room, Palais des Nations
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) - Paul Dillon, Spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration (IOM): “Last Tuesday, the figure stood at 340,000. And of course, prior to the fighting, an estimated 3.7 million people were internally displaced in Sudan.”
- Wide shot: journalists
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH) - Paul Dillon, Spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration (IOM): “The IOM has stock of non-food items in six warehouses around the country. But to date, we have been unable to deliver to those in need. The fighting must end and humanitarians must be allowed to resume their work, providing assistance to those most in need before the situation spirals further out of control.”
- Medium shot: journalists, monitor in background
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): Isheeta Sumra, Communications Officer of the World Food Programme (WFP): “At this point, we don't have any information. We aren't even able to confirm the extent of the looting in the Khartoum office, but reiterate that the food, the vehicles, the fuel, the assets that have been looted from WFP, you know, go towards the response for the people in Sudan. And this directly hurts the people of Sudan.”
- Wide shot: journalists and technicians in the room
- SOUNDBITE (ENGLISH): Tarik Jašarević, Spokesperson for the World Health Organization (WHO): “Since 15 April, WHO has verified 28 attacks on health, leading to eight deaths and 18 injuries. More reports are under verification. These attacks include looting, obstruction of access to health care, violent attacks using weapons and the forced occupation of facilities. Unfortunately, the looting is affecting health care facilities. And this is something that severely undermines the possibility of Sudanese people to seek health care.”
- Wide shot: journalists, conference room
- Wide shot: journalists, conference room
- Medium shot: journalists
Similar Stories
1
1
1
Edited News , B-roll | OCHA
Gaza: ‘Worst-case scenario’ unfolds as two-month aid blockade deepens suffering - OCHA
Two months into a devastating aid blockade of Gaza food has run out and people are fighting over water amid relentless bombing, the UN’s humanitarian affairs coordination office (OCHA) said on Friday.
/Includes OCHA footage from Gaza City/
1
1
1
Edited News | UNRWA
Children in Gaza are going to bed starving, says aid agency
The biggest UN aid agency in Gaza on Tuesday condemned the two-month Israeli blockade on Gaza that has left families sharing a single tin of food at mealtime and the sick and injured without lifesaving medical help, amid daily bombardment.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNHCR
Ongoing Russian attacks in Ukraine force frontline areas to empty: UNHCR
With Ukrainian cities still reeling from this week’s deadly Russian missile and drone attacks, communities on the front line continue to be targeted too, the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, said on Friday. “We also see attacks on frontline regions increasing and it's, as always, civilians that are bearing the highest cost of the war,” said Karolina Lindholm Billing, UNHCR Representative in Ukraine.
1
1
1
Edited News | WFP
Funding and supply shortfalls for the UN World Food Programme (WFP)'s work in Ethiopia will halt lifesaving treatment for 650,000 malnourished women and children at the end of the month. “We are at the breaking point,” it said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Israeli military operations in Lebanon continue to kill and injure civilians, and destroy civilian infrastructure, raising concerns regarding the protection of civilians, the UN Human Rights Office warned today.
1
1
1
Edited News | IOM , UNWOMEN , UNDP
Sudan: Aid teams report massive displacement after latest Darfur atrocity; women’s bodies ‘turned into battlegrounds’
In Sudan’s North Darfur, tens of thousands of people have fled a displacement camp following the massacre of civilians and aid workers as the country enters the third year of a conflict marked by horrific levels of sexual violence, UN humanitarians said on Tuesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | ITC
Global trade could shrink by three per cent as a result of the United States’ new tariff measures which in the longer term could reshape and boost as-yet untapped regional commercial links, a top UN economist confirmed on Friday.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
Warring parties in Sudan are overseeing a wholesale assault on human rights amid global inaction, the UN Human Rights Office said on Friday, as the conflict is about to enter its third year.
1
1
1
Edited News | OHCHR , UNOG
The UN Human Rights Office on Friday said Israel’s increasing issuance of so-called “evacuation orders” for Palestinians in Gaza have resulted in their forcible transfer.
1
1
1
Edited News | OCHA , OHCHR , UNHCR , UNWOMEN , WFP , WHO
Two years of war in Sudan have created epic suffering, aid agencies say
Two years since Sudan’s brutal conflict began, UN agencies warned that famine is spreading and civilians of all ages continue to suffer shocking abuse, including rape and gang rape.
1
1
Edited News | UNMAS
In Gaza, ongoing Israeli military operations and the aid blockade have continued to add to daily fears and hardships confronting those in the devastated enclave, the UN Mine Action Service, UNMAS, said on Wednesday.
1
1
1
Edited News | UNDP
Dangers grow for Myanmar earthquake survivors, health system 'overwhelmed' - UNDP
In earthquake-shattered central Myanmar people are sleeping in the streets in fear of buildings collapsing, facing early monsoon rains and the risk of waterborne diseases, the UN Development Programme warned on Tuesday.