The civil war in Sudan has displaced millions of people (Picture: AFP)
The number of people driven out of their own home by the conflict in Sudan has now risen to more than 1.3 million, according to the UN.
Fighting continues to rage on between Sudan’s military and a powerful paramilitary force after more than six weeks of warfare.
Over one million people have been forced to flee their homes and move to safer areas within the country, says the UN’s International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
A further 320,000 have escaped to the neighbouring countries of Egypt, South Sudan, Chad, Ethiopia, the Central African Republic and Libya.
Clashes between rival forces even broke out today in Khartoum, despite a ceasefire being agreed on Monday – albeit a fragile one.
Sporadic fighting continued in several areas and residents reported hearing gunshots and explosions in central Khartoum, as well as areas close to military facilities in Omdurman.
Both sides blamed each other for violating the cease-fire.
Smoke rises above buildings in Khartoum today as fighting continues despite a ceasefire being in place (Picture: AFP)
Just five days ago, houses were left shaking after the capital was hit by airstrikes and the civil war has led to a collapse in law and order, with looting that, again, both sides have traded blame for.
Violence erupted on April 15 this year after months of escalating tensions between the military, led by General Abdel-Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces commanded by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo.
The situation has worsened an already existing humanitarian crisis and right now, stocks of food, cash, and essentials in the North African nation are rapidly dwindling.
Hopes of restoring the country’s fragile transition to democracy have been completely shattered by the conflict.
At least 863 civilians have already been killed, including at least 190 children, while more than 3,530 people have been wounded, according to the most recent data from the Sudanese Doctors’ Syndicate, which mainly tracks civilian casualties.
At least 863 civilians have now been killed in the conflict (Picture: AFP)
It has pushed the country to near collapse, with urban areas in Khartoum and its neighbouring city of Omdurman turning into battlegrounds.
Egypt is hosting the largest number of those who have fled, with at least 132,360 people, followed by Chad with 80,000 and South Sudan with more than 69,000, the agency added.
All but one of Sudan’s 18 provinces has experienced displacement, with Khartoum at the top of the list with about 70% of the total number of displaced people, according to the IOM’s Displacement Tracking Matrix.
The weeklong ceasefire was brokered by the United States and Saudi Arabia and was the latest international effort to push for humanitarian aid delivery to the conflict-torn country.
Around 320,000 people have been forced to flee to neighbouring countries (Picture: EPA)
A joint statement from the US and Saudi Arabia yesterday evening warned that neither the Sudanese military nor the Rapid Support Forces observed the short-term ceasefire.
The fighting has exacerbated the already dire humanitarian conditions in Sudan. According to the UN, the number of people who need assistance this year has increased by 57% to reach 24.7 million people – more than half the country’s population.
The international body said it would need £2.1billion ($2.6bn) to provide them with much-needed humanitarian assistance.
Shortly after the civil war broke out, British nationals were desperately trying to escape in terrifying circumstances.
One student who managed to flee Khartoum likened scenes in the city to that of the horror movie The Purge, while another Brit risked being shot to walk four hours to an airstrip for an evacuation flight.
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Almost 900 civilians have been killed in the conflict.
