Fifteen months into the war in Sudan, here’s how UNHCR is supporting those uprooted from their homes across the region and beyond

Since April 2023, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has battled the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in a brutal civil war that has uprooted nearly 10 million people. Fifteen months into the war, thousands are still leaving Sudan every day, fleeing brutal violence and abuse, death, disrupted services, limited access to humanitarian aid and looming famine.

Within Sudan alone, more than 7.7 million have been displaced, and more than 2 million refugees and asylum seekers have sought safety in neighboring countries, including Chad, Egypt, Ethiopia and South Sudan — where at least 1,000 people still cross the border daily.

“Countless people remain terrified inside Sudan, and those who have fled across the country’s many borders are in need of help, often finding themselves in places where access is extremely hard and resources strained,” says UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filippo Grandi.  “Humanitarians are working hard to respond but we need — once again — to call on countries and individuals with the means to step up and provide the resources so we can help people who have lost everything.”

Read about the experiences of three Sudanese individuals who have been displaced, and learn how UNHCR and its partners are assisting on the ground and how you can help support their efforts.

Hadji Al Nour Sar: Chad

Hadji Al Nour Sar has a simple wish: to change her clothes and return home.

The 30-year-old mother of six has worn the same tattered dress for over a year since she and her children fled violence in Sudan’s western Darfur region. Nursing her six-month-old baby girl in the shade of a large tree in the Aboutengue refugee camp in eastern Chad, Hadji worries about providing enough food for her daughter. 

“I miss our home, our food, my clothes,” she says as she laments over the lack of opportunities to earn a living and of one day returning to her home in El Geneina, a city just a few dozen kilometers away across the Chad-Sudan border.

Since the conflict began, over 622,900 refugees have fled violence and crossed the border into Chad, marking the largest refugee arrivals in the country’s history. The new arrivals are mostly from Darfur, one of Sudan’s most affected regions by violence. The escalation of conflict, including ethnically motivated attacks, indiscriminate violence, lootings and intense fighting continues to force thousands of people to flee.

Despite security and environmental disruptions, UNHCR and its partners are working tirelessly to support the government’s efforts and to coordinate the emergency response, reaching over 370,000 people in border areas and relocation sites with protection, food, water and healthcare.

Mahamoud Alnaji Teawa: South Sudan

Mahamoud Alnaji Teawa and his family fled from a small village in Omdurman, Sudan. They first arrived in Kosti, a town south of Khartoum, Sudan’s capital, and later crossed into South Sudan.

UNHCR transported the family from the Renk transit center to the Ajuong Thok refugee camp in South Sudan’s Unity State. With money from his brother who lives in the United States, Mahamoud opened a small grocery shop.

“I was able to improve my family’s life, including by buying beds, so as you can see we are not sleeping on the floor as before,” Mahamoud explains. “I want to [use the profit from my business] to supplement the food aid we get from the UN and also to avoid begging people for money, to be self-reliant and get independence.”

Thanks to UNHCR and its partner, the Lutheran World Federation, Mahamoud's children also benefit from education programs and hope to move to other cities to continue their studies.

Since April 2023, more than 742,100 people like Mahamoud and his family have sought refuge in South Sudan. As fighting continues, aid agencies are bracing for more people to seek refuge in neighboring South Sudan. 

UNHCR is working with the government to provide critical emergency assistance at the transit center near the border, including water, hot meals, sanitation facilities and primary healthcare.

Idris Issa

Formerly a commercial farmer, Idris Issa, lost everything when the war in Sudan broke out and his family was displaced from their home in North Kordofan. His family found safety at a UNHCR-supported site for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Al Jabalain, Sudan.

“I pray for peace and I want the world to know what is happening,” Idris expresses. “I pray Sudan recovers, it has to. This is my country, this is where I was born.”

According to UNHCR’s 2023 Global Trends report, last year, more than 9.1 million people were reported to have been displaced within the country — the largest internally displaced population ever reported. As of July 2024, that number now stands at more than 7.7 million people displaced within Sudan.

Though the situation remains complex inside the country, and the ongoing rainy season and security issues hinder the delivery of critical humanitarian assistance, UNHCR is on the ground providing protection, shelter assistance and relief items such as hygiene and household supplies.

How to help…

For a little over a year now, the war in Sudan has been nothing short of devastating. Since the war began, nearly 10 million people have been displaced. That's 10 million homes destroyed, 10 million people who have faced grave loss and 10 million reasons to take action on behalf of displaced families in Sudan. Become USA for UNHCR’s newest monthly donor today and ensure vital humanitarian aid reaches those uprooted by the war.