2023 Sudanese refugee crisis

An ongoing refugee crisis began in Africa in mid-April 2023 after the outbreak of the 2023 Sudan conflict. By 12 May 2023, more than 200,000 had fled the country,[1][2][3] while over 1 million had been internally displaced.[4][5][6][7][8][9] [10]These included diplomats and citizens and foreign nationals from countries including Somalia, Eritrea, Brazil, the United States, the United Kingdom, Kenya and Uganda.[11][12][13][14] Thousands more were reported to have been displaced, mainly residents of Khartoum.[15] On 24 April 2023, several countries including Chad and South Sudan reported several thousand civilians, some coming by bus or car or on foot in severely dangerous conditions.[15]

2023 Sudanese refugee crisis
Part of the 2023 Sudan conflict
Date15 April 2023 – present
Location

The vast majority of these civilians entered the neighboring country of Chad with the UN reporting most of these people came from Darfur and Khartoum, but thousands more moved to other countries. By 5 May 2023, The Guardian and the UN had reported 30,000 refugees [16] in Chad, 30,000 in South Sudan, 40,000 [17][18][19] in Egypt and at least 25,000 more waiting at the border, More than 11,000 people[20] (including 1,400 Turkish nationals [21])[22] in Ethiopia and about 6,000 to the Central African Republic .[lower-alpha 1][23] Several people were reportedly stuck or displaced across the country due to the increase in violence and a humanitarian crisis which had affected 16 million civilians across the whole country.[24]

Background
Main articles: 2023 Sudan conflict, Battle of Khartoum (2023), and Darfur campaign

On 15 April 2023, the RSF launched a surprise attack on multiple Sudanese Army bases across the country, including in the capital Khartoum.[25] RSF forces claimed to have captured Khartoum International Airport, Merowe Airport, El Obeid Airport as well as a base in Soba. Clashes between the RSF and the SAF erupted at the Presidential Palace and at the residence of General al-Burhan, with both sides claiming control over the two sites. In response, the SAF announced the closure of all airports in the country, and the Sudanese Air Force conducted airstrikes on RSF positions in Khartoum with artillery fire being heard in different parts of the city.[25] Fighting continued in the following weeks and spread to the Darfur region, which was recovering from an internal conflict and genocide in the 2000s.

Refugees before the 2023 conflict

Before the conflict, thousands of refugees had fled Sudan during old conflicts, mainly its civil wars or the wars in Darfur leaving at least 400,000 Sudanese across the Chadian border and hundreds of thousands more in neighboring countries such as South Sudan and Egypt.[26][27]

Refugee movements

Internally-displaced persons

The United Nations said on 26 April that the fighting in Sudan had produced nearly 700,000 internally displaced persons.[28] Thousands of residents fled Khartoum by foot or by vehicle to safer parts of the country.[29] Some of them faced difficulties such as the presence of roadblocks and robberies along the roads.[30] The Norwegian Refugee Council said that there were about 300 refugees from Khartoum who had fled southeast to El-Gadarif.[31] 3,000 refugees from Khartoum fled to Tunaydbah refugee camp, which already hosts 28,000 Ethiopian refugees, in eastern Sudan, while at least 20,000 fled to Wad Madani.[32] Up to 30,000 people, mainly South Sudanese refugees, moved south from Khartoum to White Nile State, which borders South Sudan. Up to 37,000 people were thought to have been displaced across Nyala, the capital of South Darfur.[33]

Chad

On 15 April 2023, Chad reported thousands of refugees coming past the now closed border between the nation and Sudan. Over the following days the UN reported a massive influx of refugees crossing mainly from Darfur amounting to 20,000 people by 19 April[34] and more than 60,000 by 12 May.[35][20] The UN announced later on that the refugees lacked basic needs such as food and shelter. Reports also suggested that the majority of them were women and children.[36]

South Sudan

On 24 April 2023, South Sudan's Renk County reported thousands of refugees seeking shelter in the country. Authorities estimated the volume of refugees to be at least 10,000 people, three-quarters of whom were South Sudanese who had previously fled north to escape internal conflicts and the rest consisting of Sudanese and other African nationals.[37] The refugees were primarily women and children who also lacked several basic needs.[38] Authorities reported 6,500 people on 22 April, 3,000 on 23 April and at least 500 people on 24 April, they reported several South Sudanese, Sudanese, Ugandan, Kenyan, Eritrean and Somali people.[39] By 4 May, the number had risen to 30,000.[40] The United Nations said that it was expecting a combined total of up to 270,000 refugees to cross into South Sudan and Chad.[41]

Egypt

On 23 April 2023, hundreds of civilians were reported to have arrived at the Egyptian border mainly in buses, with most of them again being women and children who had fled from war-torn cities. These people were given asylum and Egypt urged civilians to go to its land border crossing at Wadi Halfa or to Port Sudan for evacuation or safety.[42][43] Egypt said that 42,300 people, 40,000 of whom were Sudanese, had entered the country from Sudan.[20] The number increased to 64,000 by 9 May.[4] Two camps operated by the Red Crescent were set up to provide aid to refugees.[44]

Other countries

More than 11,000 people[20] fled to Ethiopia, including 1,400 Turkish nationals.[45] About 6,000 people fled to the Central African Republic.[20] About 3,000 people were evacuated to Djibouti.[46]

Controversy

Criticism was levelled at diplomatic missions operating in Sudan for their slow response in helping Sudanese visa applicants whose passports were left behind in embassies following their closure during evacuation efforts, preventing them from leaving the country.[47]

See also

Notes
  1. References from The Guardian above state this

References
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  2. AfricaNews (10 May 2023). "Sudan: strong explosions in Khartoum on the 26th day of the war". Africanews. Retrieved 10 May 2023.
  3. "Sudan violence forces at least 450,000 children to flee their homes". www.unicef.org. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  4. "Sudan fighting in its 24th day: A list of key events". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  5. "Over 700,000 displaced within Sudan since mid-April: UN". Deccan Herald. 9 May 2023. Retrieved 9 May 2023.
  6. "Over 100,000 refugees crossed from Sudan to neighbouring countries - UN". Reuters. 2 May 2023. Archived from the original on 2 May 2023. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
  7. Siddiqui, Mersiha Gadzo,Usaid. "Sudan updates: Army says foreign evacuations to begin". www.aljazeera.com. Archived from the original on 22 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  8. "South Sudan receives about 10,000 refugees fleeing Sudan fighting". The Times of India. 24 April 2023. ISSN 0971-8257. Archived from the original on 25 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  9. Crisp, James; Hymas, Charles; Butcher, Ben (26 April 2023). "How the Sudan crisis could trigger a new migration wave". The Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Archived from the original on 28 April 2023. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
  10. "Sudan violence forces at least 450,000 children to flee their homes". www.unicef.org. Retrieved 12 May 2023.
  11. Agência (24 April 2023). "Grupo de brasileiros preso em confrontos usa ônibus de clube para deixar Sudão | O TEMPO". www.otempo.com.br (in Brazilian Portuguese). Archived from the original on 25 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
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  15. Burke, Jason; Salih, Zeinab Mohammed; Ahmed, Kaamil (24 April 2023). "Sudan: thousands flee Khartoum as civilian casualties escalate". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 25 April 2023. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
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