Wars, disasters

New high in the number of internally displaced persons

Displaced persons in the Gaza Strip(Bild: APA/AFP/MAHMUD HAMS)

The conflicts in Sudan and the Gaza Strip have caused the number of internally displaced persons worldwide to reach an all-time high by the end of 2023, according to a report.

According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre, 68.3 million people have been displaced. A further 7.7 million people have been forced to flee their homes due to natural disasters. In sub-Saharan Africa, the number of internally displaced persons has more than doubled since 2018.

Sudan: the forgotten hell
Since April 15, 2023, bloody fighting has been raging in Sudan between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) of General and de facto President Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan (64) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) under the leadership of Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, known as Hemetti (49).

According to a UN report, 24.8 million people in Sudan are dependent on aid.(Bild: - / AFP / picturedesk.com)

Fighting is taking place throughout the country, often in the middle of densely populated residential areas. The United Nations reports brutal actions by both the Sudanese army SAF and the militia RSF. Rape, forced recruitment, ethnically motivated violence and arbitrary killings are the order of the day. Around six million people have had to flee the fighting. According to a UN report, 24.8 million people are dependent on aid.

Internally displaced persons in Gaza and Syria
According to UN estimates, around 1.7 million people have been displaced in the Gaza Strip since the devastating attack on Israel by the radical Islamic terrorist organization Hamas last year and the subsequent offensive by the Israeli army. In Ukraine, around 3.7 million people were considered internally displaced at the end of 2023, and 7.2 million in Syria.