2-8 November Sudan News Summary: Displacement, famine, and poverty amid deteriorating security conditions

10 Nov

Arabic news roundup

By William Greenwood

A Sudanese minister revealed on Saturday that the poverty rate in the country has risen to 71% due to the ongoing conflict.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM), a UN agency, published the results of an assessment on October 25, showing that 86% of families are struggling to afford their basic needs due to low incomes, inflation, a lack of available cash, and disruptions to local markets.
Minister of Human Resources and Social Welfare, Moatasem Ahmed Saleh, stated at a press conference that the poverty rate in Sudan has increased from 21% to 71% due to the war, according to official reports.
He indicated that 23 million Sudanese citizens are living below the poverty line.
The poverty line is defined as the minimum income level necessary to meet basic living requirements such as food, housing, and clothing. The World Bank recently set the global poverty line at $3 per person per day, up from the previous figure of $2.15.

Independent sources confirmed on Saturday the existence of escalating security tensions in El Tina, North Darfur State, amidst reports of the RSF planning an attack on the area.
These reports led to the closure of most shops and the transfer of goods to the Chadian side of the border, while many displaced people left their shelters and neighbourhoods, heading to refugee camps in eastern Chad.
The town of El Tina is located on the border between Sudan and Chad and is one of several towns in Darfur where the Sudanese army and its allies are present.
Trader Hussein Ibrahim said that commercial activity between El Tina and other areas of North Darfur has completely stopped since the RSF seized control of El Fasher last October, due to fears that El Tina would be subjected to a similar attack, especially after a large concentration of RSF forces was observed in the town of Kulbus in northwestern Darfur.
A volunteer at an emergency relief centre reported that large numbers of displaced people had left the displacement centre and several other centres, heading to refugee camps in eastern Chad.

Dozens of displaced families from El Fasher arrive at the "Hosh Melit" center in El Dabba, Northern State, heartbroken by the loss of their young men and exhausted after 17 months of siege and fighting.
After arriving at the reception centre for newcomers, located about 350 kilometres north of Khartoum, the displaced families are transferred to the Al-Affad camp on the eastern bank of the Nile.
Scenes of mourning are widespread among the newly arrived displaced people as they receive condolences for relatives they lost during the recent battles that led to the fall of El Fasher, or who were killed on the road while fleeing the city.
The majority of families who arrived in El Dabba after the fall of El Fasher have missing relatives, due to the RSF kidnapping young men from these families as they were leaving the city.

By Samuel Hunt

At least 81,817 people have fled the city and surrounding villages, mostly on foot, seeking safety in nearby towns such as Tawila.
More than 70,000 people remain trapped in El Fasher, unable to reach safety or receive humanitarian aid.
Displaced families, especially women and children, report separation from relatives, forced payments of “transportation fees” or ransoms during escape, and extreme exhaustion or dehydration upon arrival in Tawila.
Satellite imagery and on-the-ground reports show mass graves being dug, widespread destruction of homes and displacement sites, highlighting both the scale of displacement and the severity of the violence forcing it.

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) has declared famine in two additional regions of Sudan: the besieged city of El Fasher in Darfur and Kadugli in South Kordofan, marking the expansion of Phase 5 catastrophic food insecurity.
Around 375,000 people in these areas are already experiencing famine, while another 6.3 million face extreme hunger, and over 21 million nationwide are acutely food insecure.
Conflict, siege tactics, and the blockade of humanitarian access, particularly in El Fasher where civilians remain trapped by the RSF, are the primary drivers of the crisis.
The UN warns that the famine reflects a broader humanitarian collapse, where displacement, malnutrition, and disease have left mothers and children most at risk.
Humanitarian agencies report that the response is critically underfunded and obstructed, with only a fraction of those in need reached as supply routes and aid convoys remain blocked.

Bill Greenwood