On Tuesday, the UN refugee agency warned that unrest in Sudan would likely cause 1 million people to migrate over its borders.
Since mid-April, almost 600,000 people have fled to Egypt, Chad, South Sudan, and Central African Republic from the military fighting.
“Unfortunately, looking at the trends, looking at the situation in Darfur, we’re likely to go beyond 1 million,” UNHCR Assistant High Commissioner for Operations Raouf Mazou said when asked about its April projection for the next six months.
In the early 2000s, ethnically driven attacks and clashes in Darfur killed 300,000 people.
He would not specify how many refugees will flee overseas above 1 million. Since April, the UN estimates 2.5 million people have been displaced, mostly in Sudan.
Witnesses and activists said Arab nomadic tribe militias and the Rapid Support Forces, a military component fighting Sudan’s army in Khartoum, have caused Darfur’s latest wave of bloodshed.
This month, witnesses told Reuters that more Sudanese residents fleeing El Geneina, a Darfur city under frequent bombardment, have been slain or shot as they sought to get to Chad.
“Many women and children are injured. Mazou said it’s worrying.
He called access to refugees in Chad “extraordinarily difficult” due to the rainy season, which made it tougher to transport them away from the border into safer camps.
He claimed the UNHCR revised its projection for Sudanese refugees entering Chad from 100,000 to 245,000.
“As Darfur deteriorates, fewer people want to stay at the border,” he remarked.
