'Devastating milestone': More than 4 million people have fled Sudan since start of civil war

Sudan's civil war has reached a devastating milestone, the United Nations is warning, with more than four million people fleeing the country since the start of the civil war.

More than 800,000 people have crossed into neighbouring Chad since the outbreak of fighting in April 2023, joining some 400,000 Sudanese refugees who had fled earlier waves of conflict in Darfur.

The most recent influx into Chad began in April 2025 following violent attacks by armed groups in North Darfur. In just over a month, more than 68,000 refugees have arrived in Chad's Wadi Fira and Ennedi Est provinces, with an average 1,400 people crossing the border every day, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

The UNHCR, is now asking for more than 550 million dollars, or 483 million euros, to help the displaced population, warning that just 14 percent of current needs are being met.

Refugees currently only receive 5 litres of water a day, well below the international standard of 15 to 20 litres for basic needs. Hundreds of thousands remain stranded at the border.

Ethnically motivated killings

Sudan plunged into civil war on April 15, 2023, when simmering tensions between the military and the RSF exploded into open warfare in the capital Khartoum and other parts of the country.

At least 24,000 people have been reported killed, though the number is likely far higher. More than 14 million have been displaced and forced from their homes.

The war has been marked by atrocities, including mass rape and ethnically motivated killings that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, especially in the western region of Darfur, according to the United Nations and international rights groups.

Famine was announced in at least five locations with the epicenter in the Darfur region.