WORLD
2 min read
Thousands flee Sudan’s North Kordofan villages as security deteriorates: UN
IOM says worsening security conditions force 4,250 people to flee Um Arda, Tamid, Al-Khor Al-Abyad villages in Shikan locality.
Thousands flee Sudan’s North Kordofan villages as security deteriorates: UN
A displaced persons camp in El Obeid, North Kordofan State, Sudan, on January 12, 2026. / Reuters Archive

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Sunday that more than 4,000 people have been displaced from three villages in Sudan’s North Kordofan state due to deteriorating security conditions over the past two days.

In a statement, the organisation said teams from its Displacement Tracking Matrix estimated that 4,250 people had fled the villages of Um Arda, Tamid and Al-Khor Al-Abyad in Shikan locality on August 14 and 15 amid worsening security conditions.

It added that the affected families had fled to other areas within Shikan locality and to the city of Omdurman, west of the capital Khartoum.

The UN agency warned the situation remains tense and volatile, saying it continues to closely monitor developments on the ground.

On Friday, the independent rights group Emergency Lawyers said 14 civilians had been killed and dozens wounded in an attack by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the Um Arda area, southwest of El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state.

A day earlier, Sudanese military sources told Anadolu that the army had repelled an RSF attack in the areas of Jebel Hashaba and Um Arda, southwest of El-Obeid. The Sudanese army also said it had foiled another RSF attack on the Jabra Al-Sheikh area of North Kordofan, claiming that the attackers suffered casualties and losses in equipment.

The three states of the Kordofan region — North Kordofan, West Kordofan and South Kordofan — have witnessed clashes between the army and the RSF since October 25, 2025.

Sudan has been engulfed in war since April 2023 between the army and the RSF over plans to integrate the paramilitary force into the regular military. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced around 13 million, according to UN estimates.

SOURCE:َAA