More than 400,000 people were displaced in Sudan in 2022, mostly because of conflicts in the western Darfur and southern Blue Nile regions, the UN said on Tuesday.
The International Organisation for Migration said most of the 418,000 people displaced last year — about 314,000 — left their homes because of conflict.
Blue Nile had the biggest share of displacements, with 30.6 per cent, followed by West Darfur with 22.8 per cent and South Darfur at 11.2 per cent.
Another 103,000 people were displaced because of flooding during the rainy season, said the IOM.
The newly displaced join more than three million people who have been displaced over the years in Sudan, a vast Afro-Arab nation of more than 40 million people that has seen little respite from resinous civil wars since it gained independence from Britain in 1956.
Sudan's displaced typically live in squalid camps on the outskirts of major cities, including Khartoum. Many of them depend almost entirely on relief handouts. Their presence, especially in Darfur, frequently leads to tensions with locals and their camps are often the target of deadly raids by the ethnic or tribal group that forced them away from their homes in the first place.
Prominent among Sudan's post-independence conflicts is the civil war that raged in South Sudan for more than 20 years, making it Africa's longest. That conflict ended with a 2005 peace accord that paved the way for the secession of the mainly animist and Christian south in 2011.
The war in Darfur was fought in the 2000s, leaving at least 300,000 people dead and more than 2 million displaced, according to UN figures.
Both conflicts pitted ethnic Africans against what they see as the unfair political and economic privileges enjoyed by the Arabized and Muslim north of Sudan and its ruling clique in Khartoum.
The war in Blue Nile province has raged for years, with rebels in control of vast swathes of territory.
Deadly outbreaks of sectarian or tribal violence continue to bedevil Sudan's outlaying regions to this day, including Darfur, Kordofan and Blue Nile, where the same root causes behind their conflicts remain in play.
Sudan's military signed a peace deal with several rebel groups in October 2020. However, the groups that control large swathes of land and in possession of firepower to reckon with are refusing to join the process despite repeated pleas by Khartoum for them to enter negotiations.
Significantly, the rebels whose leaders signed the 2020 agreement are yet to be assimilated into the armed forces as promised and have in some instances contributed to outbreaks of lawlessness or violence in their home regions or in the capital Khartoum.
A 2021 military coup that upended Sudan's democratic transition has created a security vacuum in Sudan's outlaying regions and denied the country the western funds it had been promised to implement the 2020 peace deal, including the integration into the armed forces of the former rebels.
Sudan's western backers suspended billions of dollars' worth of aid to Sudan in response to the coup and insist only when a credible, civilian-led transitional government is in place will they resume their assistance.
Our family matters legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Desert Warrior
Starring: Anthony Mackie, Aiysha Hart, Ben Kingsley
Director: Rupert Wyatt
Rating: 3/5
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse Of Madness'
Director: Sam Raimi
Cast: Benedict Cumberbatch, Elizabeth Olsen, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Benedict Wong, Xochitl Gomez, Michael Stuhlbarg and Rachel McAdams
Rating: 3/5
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Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
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Dates for the diary
To mark Bodytree’s 10th anniversary, the coming season will be filled with celebratory activities:
- September 21 Anyone interested in becoming a certified yoga instructor can sign up for a 250-hour course in Yoga Teacher Training with Jacquelene Sadek. It begins on September 21 and will take place over the course of six weekends.
- October 18 to 21 International yoga instructor, Yogi Nora, will be visiting Bodytree and offering classes.
- October 26 to November 4 International pilates instructor Courtney Miller will be on hand at the studio, offering classes.
- November 9 Bodytree is hosting a party to celebrate turning 10, and everyone is invited. Expect a day full of free classes on the grounds of the studio.
- December 11 Yogeswari, an advanced certified Jivamukti teacher, will be visiting the studio.
- February 2, 2018 Bodytree will host its 4th annual yoga market.
england euro squad
Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Man Utd), Sam Johnstone (West Brom), Jordan Pickford (Everton)
Defenders: John Stones (Man City), Luke Shaw (Man Utd), Harry Maguire (Man Utd), Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Kyle Walker (Man City), Tyrone Mings (Aston Villa), Reece James (Chelsea), Conor Coady (Wolves), Ben Chilwell (Chelsea), Kieran Trippier (Atletico Madrid)
Midfielders: Mason Mount (Chelsea), Declan Rice (West Ham), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Jude Bellingham (Borussia Dortmund), Kalvin Phillips (Leeds)
Forwards: Harry Kane (Tottenham), Marcus Rashford (Man Utd), Raheem Sterling (Man City), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton), Phil Foden (Man City), Jack Grealish (Aston Villa), Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal)
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
WORLD CUP SEMI-FINALS
England v New Zealand
(Saturday, 12pm UAE)
Wales v South Africa
(Sunday, 12pm, UAE)
Tonight's Chat on The National
Tonight's Chat is a series of online conversations on The National. The series features a diverse range of celebrities, politicians and business leaders from around the Arab world.
Tonight’s Chat host Ricardo Karam is a renowned author and broadcaster who has previously interviewed Bill Gates, Carlos Ghosn, Andre Agassi and the late Zaha Hadid, among others.
Intellectually curious and thought-provoking, Tonight’s Chat moves the conversation forward.
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