IOM: Nearly 50,000 Displaced by Clashes in Sudan’s Blue Nile State Since January
The International Organization for Migration said on Tuesday that nearly 50,000 people have fled Blue Nile State due to ongoing clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) since January.
In a statement, the organization said that nearly 50,000 people have been displaced from Blue Nile State in southeastern Sudan since the start of 2026, attributing the mass displacement to escalating armed clashes in the state’s border regions.
According to the statement, 49,512 people, comprising 9,899 households, were displaced across different parts of the state between January 11 and May 4.
The organization noted that most of the displacement originated from three key localities: 28,020 people fled Al-Kurmuk, 18,722 were displaced from Bau, and 11,855 from Qeisan.
The displaced families relocated to seven sites across the state, including Ad-Damazin, the state capital, which hosted 25,630 displaced people, as well as Bau, where 11,002 individuals sought refuge. The organization did not provide details on the locations of the remaining displaced persons.
The organization also reported that 78 percent of the newly displaced took shelter in informal gathering sites, while 13 percent were housed in schools and public facilities, and the remaining nine percent stayed with host families.
Blue Nile State has witnessed escalating clashes in recent weeks between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, resulting in the displacement of thousands of civilians from several areas across the state.
Since April 2023, Sudan has been engulfed in conflict between the army and the RSF, a war that has left tens of thousands dead, displaced nearly 13 million people, and triggered one of the world’s worst famine crises.
