Sudan – 50 thousand displaced people from Kordofan and half a million in Al-Obeid are at risk

At the bi-weekly press conference of United Nations agencies in Geneva, Rifaat pointed out that “People in Sudan are not displaced by choice.”Adding that displacement in Kordofan does not occur sporadically, “But because people are afraid.”.

He pointed out that the displaced people are fleeing from areas around Babanusa, Kadugli and Al-Obeid. “Those who are lucky reach the White Nile, but only women and children get there.”. The UN official estimated that between 90 and 100 thousand people are expected to be displaced from the area if the fighting in Kadugli continues.

He added: “It is estimated that about half a million people will be affected from the city of El Obeid, which appears to be a step or two away from being the next to be attacked.

A difficult choice in light of funding cuts

The head of the IOM mission in Sudan expressed concern about the situation in El Fasher. Rifaat said: “We counted more than 109,000 people who were able to flee the city of El Fasher and its surrounding villages. Many of them are still stuck in neighboring villages, unable to move further due to the logistical and security problems that we all know.”.

The UN official warned of the consequences of reducing funding, saying: “We have to choose which lives to save, and which support to stop giving. So we will go through places where we know people are in desperate need, but we will leave them behind and not be able to help them because we have to prioritize those who are about to die.”.

He pointed out that the organization lost approximately $83 million of its funding, adding: “This resulted in us having to significantly reduce our capabilities on the ground.”.