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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
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New data showing that rivers were at their lowest level for decades last year provides further evidence that the climate crisis is real and countries must act immediately to protect themselves from the increasing threat to communities and livelihoods, the UN World Meteorological Organization (WMO) said on Thursday.
The key findings from WMO’s State of Global Water Resources 2025 report covering the hydrological cycle and extreme events in the five-year period to last year:
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Groundwater reserves are equally stretched and have been in decline since 2014, WMO’s report states, with nearly two-thirds of monitored wells worldwide showing levels lower than the historical norm and indicating a shift “further toward deficit…not recovery”.
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Glaciers disappearing
In 2025, for the fourth consecutive year, every major glaciated region on Earth lost ice mass, leading to short-term hazards including floods and long-term water insecurity, according to WMO.
Responding to a question about whether the changing global water cycle might have contributed to the deadly Nepal-China flooding disaster, Ms. Saulo explained that melting ice and rock was just one factor in the chain of events that ultimately sent a massive and deadly wall of water and debris downstream on 26 August, killing at least 1,367 people.
“You asked if it could happen again? Absolutely; the problem in this region is that there’s 63,700 glaciers at the last count,” she told a Press Conference in Geneva. “Even if you’re looking with remote sensing with satellites at these glaciers, you might see some faults, you might see some slight shifting, that does not mean necessarily catastrophic collapse. So, in order to plan for this, it’s very, very difficult. But the international community is looking very hard at ways in which we can bring people together to solve some of these monitoring issues.”
Data indicates that glaciers shrank between 2023 and 2025 with cumulative losses of 1,400 gigatonnes of water – or about one third of annual fresh water needs.
Every major glacier region on Earth lost ice for the fourth consecutive year.
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“After this point, the glacier gives less meltwater each year simply because there is less ice left to melt. That matters for every community downstream that relies on water during hot, dry summers,” he explained.
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Preparing for moving baselines
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Mr. Jenkinson said governments need to prepare for “moving baselines” as historical patterns become less reliable.
“The situation 30 years ago is not where we are today,” he said. Countries, he added, need to prepare “for those changes that have really already arrived”.
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