More than 5,000 people displaced following attacks by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have arrived in Damazin, capital of the southeastern Blue Nile state, amid dire humanitarian conditions, a local medical group said on Tuesday.
In a statement, the independent Sudan Doctors Network said it was following “with grave concern” the arrival of more than 5,000 people recently displaced from Blue Nile state’s Geissan area following RSF attacks there.
Displaced people, it said, face severe shortages of food, medicine and shelter, threatening their well-being and particularly affecting children, women, and the elderly.
The group also warned that heavy rainfall in Blue Nile state could aggravate the already dire humanitarian situation and increase health and environmental risks due to the limited resources available.
Food aid needed
In its statement, the doctors’ network urged the UN and humanitarian agencies to provide displaced people with food, drinking water, medical supplies and tents.
It also stressed the need to ensure that humanitarian assistance reaches those most affected as quickly as possible.
On Monday, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) stated that 5,355 people – more than 1,000 families – had been displaced from Geissan in the period between August 12 and 15 due to deteriorating security conditions.
Also on Monday, local authorities in Geissan said the Sudanese army had repelled an attack on the area, which is located near the Ethiopian border, by the paramilitary RSF and the allied Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N).
Devastating war
The Sudanese army controls large swathes of Blue Nile state, while the SPLM-N has been fighting the Khartoum-based government since 2011, claiming that it is seeking autonomy for Sudan’s South Kordofan and Blue Nile regions.
The RSF and the Sudanese army have been locked in conflict since 2023 over disagreements concerning the integration of the paramilitary force into the state-run military apparatus.
The ongoing fighting has triggered famine and one of the world’s most dire humanitarian and economic crises.
Since it began, the conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced roughly 13 million others, according to estimates.
