More than one million people, according to the United Nations, have fled Sudan because of the war and sought refuge in neighboring South Sudan. This grim milestone highlights the magnitude of this humanitarian crisis.

The conflict between the Sudanese army and a rival paramilitary group, which erupted in April 2023, has caused tens of thousands of deaths, displaced over 12 million people, and left hundreds of thousands suffering from hunger.

Over the past 21 months, 770,000 people have crossed the Joda border point, while tens of thousands more have entered South Sudan through other crossings. This brings the total to over one million people seeking refuge due to the conflict, according to figures released today by the UN.

The majority of these are South Sudanese nationals who had fled their own country to escape the civil war that broke out there in 2013, clarified the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) in a statement.

“The arrival of over one million people in South Sudan is a stark and heartbreaking statistic that truly reflects the growing scale of this crisis,” said Sanaa Abdalla Omer, deputy spokesperson for the agency in South Sudan.

“The people of South Sudan continue to demonstrate extraordinary generosity, welcoming those in need and sharing their scarce resources. However, they cannot bear this enormous responsibility alone,” she added.

The UN is calling for greater support and warns that South Sudan’s resources, including those for health care, water, and shelter, have reached dangerously overstretched limits.

Two reception centers in Renk County, near South Sudan’s northern border, designed for fewer than 5,000 people, are now accommodating over 16,000, according to the statement.

Last week, 16 Sudanese were killed in the country following anti-Sudanese protests that led to looting and violence, according to police reports.

Background on the War in Sudan
Sudan is currently engulfed in a war between the army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), commanded by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.