More than 2,500 people flee villages in Sudan's North Darfur, most crossing into Chad, the IOM says
An estimated 2,510 people have fled five villages in Um Baru locality in Sudan's North Darfur state amid worsening insecurity, with most families crossing into neighbouring Chad, the International Organization for Migration said. Another 115 people fled a village in South Kordofan. The new displacement comes as the UN refugee agency and the IOM warn that 15.4 million people in Sudan urgently need shelter, aid agencies can reach only about one in ten of them, and the IOM's warehouses are empty.
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Key points
- The IOM estimates 2,510 people fled five villages in Um Baru, North Darfur, most of them crossing into Chad.
- Another 115 people fled a village in South Kordofan's Dilling locality on Saturday.
- The flights follow earlier Um Baru waves in October — 1,150 people in late October and 895 earlier in the month, on the IOM's figures.
- UNHCR and the IOM say 15.4 million people in Sudan urgently need shelter and the IOM's warehouses are empty.
What happened
Um Baru sits in North Darfur near the Chad border, in an area that has seen repeated fighting and changes of control since Sudan's war began in April 2023 between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. Families there have been displaced again and again: the IOM counted three waves from the locality's villages in October alone before this one.
The new arrivals cross into Chad as the aid system that would receive them runs out of stock. On Friday the IOM and UNHCR said their shelter warehouses were empty and funding covers only about a tenth of the people who need shelter.
Claim by claim
Why this label: The IOM's own estimate, reported by Anadolu Agency. It is the agency's preliminary field estimate, as its displacement figures always are, and is carried as the IOM's count, not as a census.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The IOM's estimate, reported in the same Anadolu account.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Why this label: The IOM's earlier figures as reported by Anadolu; the Sudan Times' report of the late-October wave, also from the IOM, gives the same 1,150 Um Baru figure.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
Show all claims (1 more)
Why this label: The two agencies' own joint statement of 6 November, published by UNHCR.
On the ladder: a claim earns Verified from primary evidence, or from two independent sources that do not copy each other.
What we know / what we don't know yet
What we know
- The IOM's estimates: 2,510 fled five Um Baru villages, most into Chad, and 115 fled a South Kordofan village.
- The agencies' shelter warning: 15.4 million people urgently need shelter, and the IOM's stocks are exhausted.
What we don't know yet
- What drove this latest flight village by village — the IOM reports worsening insecurity and does not attribute it to a named armed group in the report read.
- Whether the 2,510 figure will be revised as the agency's field teams verify it.
Why it matters
Darfur's border villages are emptying in waves, and each wave lands in a relief system that has just announced it has nothing left in its warehouses. The figures are small next to Sudan's 8.6 million displaced — their importance is that they are still rising, in a place that was supposed to be settling.
Background
War begins in Sudan between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
The IOM reports successive waves of displacement from villages in Um Baru locality, North Darfur.
UNHCR and the IOM warn that 15.4 million people in Sudan urgently need shelter and that aid stocks are exhausted.
Update history
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Published in Checking state — the IOM's figures are preliminary estimates, and claims are labelled as reporting develops.