CAIRO (AP) 鈥 The fighting between Sudan鈥檚 military and a powerful paramilitary force has displaced more than 1.3 million people, the U.N. migration agency said Wednesday.
The International Organization for Migration said the clashes have forced over 1 million people to leave their homes to safer areas inside Sudan. Some 320,000 others have fled to the neighboring countries of Egypt, South Sudan, Chad, Ethiopia, the Central African Republic and Libya.
The fighting erupted on April 15 after months of escalating tensions between The conflict derailed Sudanese hopes of restoring the country's fragile transition to democracy, which was disrupted by a military coup led by the two generals in October 2021.
The conflict has killed at least 863 civilians, including at least 190 children, and wounded more than 3,530 others, according to the most recent numbers from the Sudanese Doctors鈥 Syndicate 鈥 which mainly tracks civilian casualties. It has also pushed the East African country to near collapse, with urban areas in the capital, Khartoum, and its neighboring city of Omdurman turning into battlegrounds.
Egypt is hosting the largest number of those who fled, with at least 132,360 people, followed by Chad with 80,000 and South Sudan with over 69,000, the agency added.
All but one of Sudan鈥檚 18 provinces experienced displacement, with Khartoum at the top of the list with around 70% of the total number of displaced people, according to the IOM鈥檚 Displacement Tracking Matrix.
Sporadic fighting continued Wednesday in several areas, despite a cease-fire reached this week. Residents reported hearing gunshots and explosions in central Khartoum as well as areas close to military facilities in Omdurman.
Both sides in the conflict Wednesday traded blame for violating the cease-fire.
The weeklong cease-fire, which was brokered by the United States and Saudi Arabia, took effect Monday night. It was the latest international effort to push for humanitarian aid delivery to the conflict-torn country.
A joint statement from the U.S. and Saudi Arabia late Tuesday warned that neither the Sudanese military nor the Rapid Support Forces observed the short-term cease-fire.
鈥淭he Sudanese people continue to suffer as a result of this devastating conflict," the statement said. It called on both sides to 鈥渇ully abide by their commitments" and to implement the temporary cease-fire to deliver urgently needed humanitarian relief.
Earlier on Tuesday, if the latest cease-fire was not adhered to.
But on Wednesday, White House 好色tv Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters in Washington that the cease-fire has largely been holding, despite reports of sporadic fire in Khartoum and elsewhere.
鈥淯ltimately, it鈥檚 of course up to the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces to implement this thing.鈥 Kirby said. 鈥淏ut in general, in the main, it appears to be holding. I want to caution you though, this is early, I mean, just went into effect yesterday afternoon. We have seen this movie before. So, we鈥檙e being pretty pragmatic as we look at it.鈥
The fighting has exacerbated the already dire humanitarian conditions in Sudan. According to the U.N., the number of people who need assistance this year has increased by 57% to reach 24.7 million people, more than half the country鈥檚 population. The international body said it would need $2.6 billion to provide them with much-needed humanitarian assistance.
The U.N. special envoy for sexual violence Pramila Patten, meanwhile, said Wednesday she is 鈥渋s gravely concerned鈥 about reports of sexual attacks against women.
鈥淭here are strong indications that it is parties to the conflict who have committed sexual violence, including rape, against women and girls,鈥 she said in a statement.
She said many of the sexual attacks apparently took place in residential areas in Khartoum, or while they were fleeing the fighting in the capital.
Other attacks on women also took place in the western region of Darfur, where sexual violence against women has been consistently reported over the past two decades, she said.
She called for investigations into the allegations and urged all parties to take immediate measures against suspects, including suspending or removing them from the ranks.
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Associated Press writers Jon Gambrell in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, and Aamer Madhani in Washington contributed.
