More than 107,000 people have been forced to flee El-Fasher and nearby communities in Sudan’s North Darfur region as security conditions sharply deteriorated, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Sunday.
In a statement, the U.N. agency said an estimated 107,294 people - about 24,221 families - fled El-Fasher and nearby areas between Oct. 26 and Dec. 8 when the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) took control of the city, as security conditions sharply deteriorated.
About 72% of those displaced remained within North Darfur, mainly in northern and western parts of the state, while around 19% moved to other states, including Central Darfur, the Northern State and White Nile State, the IOM added.
According to the agency's field teams, about 75% of those displaced since Oct. 26 had already been internally displaced, including people who initially fled major displacement camps such as Zamzam and Abu Shouk or neighborhoods inside El-Fasher during earlier escalations.
The organization warned that movement restrictions and persistent insecurity could further limit mobility and alter displacement routes depending on developments on the ground.
