Heavy rains flood UNHCR's transit centre in Renk in South Sudan's Upper Nile State. ©UNHCR/Samuel Otieno

About 8.6 million people have been internally displaced or forced to flee Sudan since a deadly conflict erupted in the country in April 2023, the UN refugee agency said.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said the displaced encountered safety risks including physical aggression, illegal taxes, extortion, sexual violence, and family separation among others.

The agency said 6.8 million people are currently internally displaced while nearly 1.8 million people have fled to South Sudan, the Central African Republic, Chad, Egypt, and Ethiopia.

“Thousands continue to arrive daily to remote and insecure border areas, where the logistical challenges and costs of operating are enormous,” UNCHR said in a press statement.

It added that Chad has received the most Sudanese refugees since the conflict erupted (572,000), followed by Egypt which hosts 500,000 refugees.

South Sudan has received an influx of more than 600,000 people from Sudan – 139,000 of whom are refugees and asylum seekers since the conflict began in Khartoum.

This adds to the 330,000 refugees that South Sudan had already been hosting, as well as the 2 million internally displaced due to conflict, insecurity and the impact of climate change.

Uganda – which already has over 1 million refugees – has welcomed 30,000 Sudanese refugees, including over 14,000 since the start of the year.

UNHCR said smuggling and trafficking networks are taking advantage of the chaos and exploiting, extorting, and abusing people as they attempt to reach safety and assistance.

“Women and girls have been exposed to shocking levels of sexual violence, whether in conflict-affected areas inside Sudan, on the move, or in countries of asylum,” it said.

UNHCR said hunger is worsening in Sudan as people cannot open their businesses and they cannot safely farm their land.

“Without an income or a harvest and with aid delivery disrupted, food security has deteriorated significantly, prompting warnings of worsening hunger in some areas.”

It further said refugees still living in Sudan are facing a severe hunger crisis due to the introduction of a 50 per cent food ration cut since January 2024 due to funding shortfalls.

It further added that dire conditions in neighbouring countries, including the scarcity of natural resources, and limited infrastructure and essential services, have increased the vulnerability of women and girls.

Meanwhile, severe underfunding has created gaps in assistance and service delivery, further heightening the risks of sexual exploitation and women resorting to harmful coping mechanisms to survive, the agency said.

According to the UN body, 19 million children are currently out of school in Sudan due to crisis in the country’s education system.

“The government can no longer ensure the regular and timely payment of teacher salaries, even in states unaffected by the conflict. Many teachers have also been displaced.”

“In addition, schools have been destroyed or are being used to shelter internally displaced people.”