2,500 displaced by fighting in Sudan’s Blue Nile state: UN refugee agency

Adel Abdelrheem and Mohammad Sio

About 2,500 people were displaced from Geisan in Sudan’s Blue Nile state after clashes broke out in the town Tuesday, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

The IOM said field teams, working under its Displacement Tracking Matrix initiative, estimated that 500 families fled Geisan because of deteriorating security conditions.

Most have moved to other locations within the Geisan area, while others crossed the border into Ethiopia, it said.

The agency said the situation remained “tense and volatile” and that teams were closely monitoring developments on the ground.

Geisan authorities said earlier Tuesday that the army had repelled an attack on the town by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their ally, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North.

The RSF, however, said it had taken control of Geisan and military positions in the town. The army did not immediately comment on the claim.

On July 10, the army said it had repelled an attack on the areas of Dim Saad and Yara in the Geisan district.

The army controls large parts of Blue Nile state, while the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North has been fighting the Sudanese government since 2011, seeking autonomy for the South Kordofan and Blue Nile regions.

The army and RSF have been at war since April 2023 over disagreements about integrating the paramilitary force into the military. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 13 million and plunged the country into one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises.