SITUATION OVERVIEW

More than 250,000 – 300,000 people have fled Aj Jazirah State following the clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) around Wad Madani, the capital of Aj Jazirah State, according to the International Organization for Migration’s Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM). Due to a lack of available transport options, many people have reportedly fled by foot.

Fighting broke out in the morning of December 15 between the SAF and the RSF in the outskirts of Wad Medani, 136 km southeast of the national capital Khartoum. Airstrikes were reported for several days after December 15 in the western, northern and eastern parts of Wad Medani and the vicinity of Alsharfa Barakat village north of the town. Shootings have been heard daily since December 15 in various areas in and outside Wad Medani. On December 18, RSF reportedly entered Wad Medani town and by December 19 took control of the city.

People displaced from Wad Medani have fled to Gedaref, Sennar and White Nile states, according to partner reports received. Many IDPs reportedly arrived at the existing IDP gathering sites (collective centers) in and around the Gedaref and Sennar localities. The majority sought shelter within the host communities, and local authorities and partners in Gedaref estimate that more than 10,000 people have sought shelter with the host communities in Gedaref town.

It is estimated that thousands of people displaced from Wad Medani might have arrived in Sennar State enroute to Gedaref, Kassala and Blue Nile. The number of displaced people will be available once the numbers are registered and verified.

There are reports of IDPs moving to White Nile State to cross over to South Sudan if the situation deteriorates.

Humanitarian response

Host communities in the localities receiving IDPs from Wad Medani are responding to meet the basic needs of the arriving IDPs. Site Management Cluster partners are closely coordinating with local authorities in Gedaref, where authorities have activated a daily emergency cell meeting to monitor the situation and ensure preparedness in the event of increased arrivals to the town center.

Shelter cluster partners are distributing 1,500 NFI kits for an estimated 7,500 IDPs in Senar and Gedaref states and have 200 tents in stock for at least 1,000 displaced people.

In Sennar State, mobile reproductive and sexual health clinics have been deployed to three localities (Sinja, Sennar, and Abuhjar) in coordination with the State Ministry of Health (SMoH).

In Gedaref, humanitarian agencies have started providing immediate relief assistance to the initial group of 330 IDPs from Aj Jazirah State in two locations.

Background

After years of protracted crisis, Sudan plunged into a conflict of alarming scale when fighting between SAF and RSF broke out initially in Khartoum on April 15, and quickly expanded to other areas across the country. Khartoum has been the site of heavy fighting, while severe violent clashes and heavy bombardments have also been reported in the greater Darfur and Kordofan regions. The hostilities have resulted in extensive damage to critical infrastructure and facilities, including water and healthcare, the collapse of banking and financial services, frequent interruptions to electricity supply and telecommunication services and widespread looting. Since the conflict broke out, humanitarian needs have increased and almost 25 million people now require assistance in Sudan. More than 6.8 million people have been forced to leave their homes for safety elsewhere.

An estimated 5.9 million people live in Aj Jazirah State, Sudan’s breadbasket, with 700,000 living in Wad Medani. More than 270,000 people in the town need humanitarian assistance. Since April 15, 2023, nearly 500,000 people have fled to Al Jazirah State, 86,400 of whom are in Wad Medani. About 1.9 million people are in crisis (IPC 3) and have above-level food security in the state, with 179,000 in Medani between October 2023 and February 2024, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). There is an ongoing cholera outbreak in Aj Jazirah and neighboring states. 57 humanitarian organizations work in the state, including 25 INGOs, 21 NNGOs and six UN agencies. So far this year humanitarian organizations have reached 730,000 people in Aj Jazirah with food assistance, WASH, health and other humanitarian interventions.

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For more information, please contact: Alimbek Tashtankulov, Public Information Officer, OCHA Sudan, tashtankulov@un.org, Mob: +249 (0)912 160361