Sudan: ‘The Warning Signs Are Impossible to Ignore’
Geneva — Sudan is facing mounting displacement and humanitarian pressures as escalating conflict and destructive seasonal flooding compound an already grave humanitarian situation, says the UN migration agency.
The situation is worsening despite a significant number of people returning to the capital Khartoum, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a statement on August 19.
“The warning signs are impossible to ignore. Across Sudan, families are fleeing violence, losing access to water, electricity, and health care, and now facing the added burden of destructive floods,” said IOM director general, Amy Pope, as the IOM continues its humanitarian response.
Humanitarian access is further disrupted by delays in global supply chains, particularly through the Red Sea and Strait of Hormuz, adding pressure to an already fragile response.
The closure of the Red Sea and the Strait of Hormuz threatens critical aid reaching people, said the IOM.
Sudan has 8.6 million people internally displaced and significant cross‑border movements into neighbouring countries in the northern part of East Africa.
– Families stretched to limits
In other parts of the country, escalating conflict, repeated attacks on infrastructure, and destructive seasonal flooding are compounding humanitarian needs and stretching families beyond their limits.
“Without urgent action to protect civilians and restore essential services, the suffering will deepen,” Pope.
The continuing armed conflict began on April 15, 2023, between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the group calling itself the Rapid Support Forces (
In North Kordofan, intensified fighting and drone strikes on El Obeid’s main electrical transformer triggered prolonged power outages, disrupting water pumping, health facilities, and telecommunications.
Displacement has surged by 25 percent in the Sheikan locality over the past eight months, with more than 200,000 people newly displaced across the wider Kordofan region since late 2025.
In Blue Nile, clashes in and near Geissan displaced 7,800 people, some crossing into Ethiopia. Meanwhile, in West Darfur nearly 18,000 people were displaced in the first half of August.
Heavy rainfall in Tawila, North Darfur, destroyed or damaged nearly 1,350 homes last week, displacing over 1,000 families, while additional flooding in Kabkabiya and Shangil Tobaya forced dozens of families into temporary shelters.
“Sudan is one of the world’s largest displacement crises. The combined impact of conflict, infrastructure damage, and flooding is stretching thousands of families beyond their limits,” noted Pope.
