News / Sudan

Over 160,000 displaced in Sudan's Darfur in 2015: UN

Monday, 16 November 2015 7:11 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 16 November 2015 7:12 PM ]

Members of the UN-African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) patrol the area near the city of Nyala in Sudan's Darfur on January 12, 2015. (AFP photo)

The deadly conflict in Sudan’s western region of Darfur has resulted in the displacement of more than 160,000 people since the beginning of this year, the United Nations says.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Monday that as many as 166,000 people were forced to flee their homes in 2015.

"The net displacement figure for Darfur since January 2015 is up to 166,000, nearly 100,000 confirmed and some 66,000 reported to have been displaced," Ivo Freijsen, the head of OCHA's Sudan office, said.

According to UN figures, the deadly conflict in Sudan’s highly volatile region had resulted in the displacement of 286,000 people last year.

Elsewhere, Freijsen also warned that the humanitarian situation in Darfur region is still "a very mixed picture." The UN official noted that the world body is still concerned about the 2.5 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the region who have fled their homes since the outbreak of the conflict 15 years ago.

In early June, a UN panel of experts mostly blamed government forces and pro-Khartoum militiamen for the recent rise in the violence in Darfur and the consequent displacements.

Women and their children sit outside their tents at the Zam Zam refugee camp for internally displaced people (IDPs) in North Darfur, Sudan, June 11, 2014. (AP photo)

Darfur has been the scene of violence since 2003, when rebels took up arms against the government in Khartoum. There has also been tribal fighting in the region.

The United Nations African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) was launched in 2007 in a bid to protect civilians and restore stability to the restive region.

The UN estimates that the violence in Darfur has so far killed some 300,000 people. Khartoum, however disputes the figure, estimating the death toll to be no more than 10,000.

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