Arabic version: السودان يواجه ضغوطاً متزايدة من النزوح والفيضانات
According to Allafrica, Sudan is facing mounting displacement and humanitarian pressure as escalating conflict and seasonal flooding compound an already grave situation, the International Organization for Migration said in a statement on August 19. The agency said conditions are worsening despite significant numbers of people returning to the capital, Khartoum.
IOM Director General Amy Pope said families across Sudan are fleeing violence, losing access to water, electricity and health care, while also confronting destructive floods. Flooding has displaced 20,000 people since June, according to the report. Sudan has 8.6 million internally displaced people, alongside significant cross-border movements into neighbouring countries in the northern part of East Africa.
Humanitarian access is also being disrupted by delays in global supply chains, particularly through the Red Sea and Strait of Hormuz, IOM said. The closure of those routes threatens the delivery of critical aid to people in Sudan. Pope said urgent action was needed to protect civilians and restore essential services, warning that suffering would deepen without it.
In North Kordofan, intensified fighting and drone strikes on El Obeid’s main electrical transformer caused prolonged power outages that disrupted water pumping, health facilities and telecommunications. Displacement in Sheikan locality has risen by 25 percent over eight months, while more than 200,000 people have been newly displaced across the wider Kordofan region since late 2025. Clashes in and near Geissan in Blue Nile displaced 7,800 people, with some crossing into Ethiopia, while nearly 18,000 people were displaced in West Darfur during the first half of August.
Heavy rain in Tawila, North Darfur, damaged or destroyed nearly 1,350 homes last week and displaced more than 1,000 families. Additional flooding in Kabkabiya and Shangil Tobaya pushed dozens of families into temporary shelters. IOM said the combined effects of conflict, infrastructure damage and flooding are stretching thousands of families beyond their limits.
