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GENEVA —The U.N. refugee agency is appealing to Sudan's neighbors to keep their borders open to people fleeing the fighting that erupted on April 15.
Since fighting between the Sudanese army and paramilitary Rapid Support Forces erupted, tens of thousands of Sudanese have left their homes fearing for their lives.
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi echoed repeated calls made by the U.N. secretary-general for hostilities to stop immediately and for all parties to embark on meaningful peace efforts.
"This is urgently needed also to prevent another major displacement crisis that could further destabilize a fragile region," Grandi said in a statement.
Despite an extension of the latest cease-fire between the warring parties, fighting was reported in Khartoum and the western Darfur region on Thursday.
Humanitarian corridors
The U.N.'s acting resident and humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, Abdou Dieng, told reporters by phone Thursday that efforts were being made from many quarters to extend the temporary cease-fire and acknowledged that fighting was going on despite it.
"There should be a cease-fire to stop fighting, but in the meantime, a humanitarian corridor must be opened to allow humanitarians to bring assistance to people in need," Dieng told reporters from Port Sudan, where hundreds of U.N. staff have relocated for safety.
Dieng said he was extremely worried about the situation in Darfur, adding that the only place where major problems had not yet been seen was El Fasher, capital of North Darfur.
"For the time being we have a collaboration with the local authorities to protect us in El Fasher," he said. "We hope that will be sustainable."
Arrivals in South Sudan, Ethiopia, Egypt
Dieng said fleeing civilians were crossing Sudan's borders into South Sudan, Ethiopia and Egypt.
Regarding reports of refugees having difficulty crossing into Egypt, he said UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration now had a presence on the Sudan side of the border and were trying to assist people.
"There is a crowd coming in and they need to go through a certain protocol to enter into Egypt," Dieng said. "They are being admitted into Egypt with a minimum requirement."
UNHCR said at least 20,000 Sudanese refugees had fled to Chad from Darfur, one of the regions in Sudan most affected by violence. Their arrival is placing enormous strain on the country's overstretched resources as Chad already shelters more than 400,000 Sudanese refugees from previous conflicts.
"The majority of those arriving are in dire need of basic humanitarian aid, namely food, water and adequate shelter," said Anne Kathrin Schaefer, chief of Chad mission for the International Organization for Migration.
On Thursday, the U.N. released $3 million from its central emergency relief fund to assist Chad with the new arrivals.
UNHCR has registered at least 4,000 South Sudanese who have been forced to return home prematurely. Marie-Helene Verney, UNHCR representative in South Sudan, noted that much larger numbers of unregistered people had been rushing through the country's northern border with Sudan and were returning home to a situation of deep uncertainty.
"We are very, very concerned about the impact on communities" if many South Sudanese refugees return, Verney said from Juba, "particularly in the places where there is conflict and communities are already affected by climate change."
The World Health Organization confirmed at least 459 deaths and more than 4,000 injuries but said the actual numbers were much higher. More than 60% of health facilities in Khartoum are closed, and only 16% continue to operate normally.
Before fighting erupted two weeks ago, 1 in 3 Sudanese - more than 15 million people - needed humanitarian assistance. The country hosts more than a million refugees and cares for 3.7 million internally displaced persons.
The U.N. is struggling to finance its aid operation in Sudan. A humanitarian appeal for 2023 for $1.7 billion has received only about $200 million.
UN Correspondent Margaret Besheer in New York contributed to this report.