Nearly 4,000 displaced in Sudan’s Blue Nile State amid ongoing clashes, UN migration agency says

Nearly 4,000 people have been displaced from the Kurmuk area in southeastern Sudan‘s Blue Nile state amid ongoing clashes in the region near the border with Ethiopia, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Sunday.

In a statement, the UN agency said that its field teams monitored the displacement of 3,860 people, or 772 families, from the Khor Hassan and Abiju areas of Kurmuk on May 10, as a result of “worsening insecurity” in the region.

It noted that the displaced people headed to the Qaysan area in Blue Nile State.

Kurmuk is located in southern Blue Nile State on the border with Ethiopia, while Qaysan lies to its north.

The organization confirmed that “the situation remains tense and volatile” and that it “continues to monitor displacement and closely observe developments.”

On Friday, the Sudanese army announced that “it had seized control of the Khor Hassan area after clashes with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their allies in the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N).”

In recent weeks, Blue Nile has witnessed escalating clashes that have led to the displacement of thousands from several areas and towns within the state.

The Sudanese army controls large parts of the Blue Nile, while the SPLM-N has been fighting the government since 2011, demanding autonomy for the two regions of South Kordofan and Blue Nile.

Sudan has faced one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises since war erupted in April 2023 between the army and the RSF over a dispute about integrating the paramilitary force into the military. The conflict has triggered famine, killed tens of thousands, and displaced millions of others.