Over 55,000 Sudanese refugees fled to east Chad this year: UN

GENEVA

People line up with containers to receive donated food at a community kitchen in Khartoum, Sudan, Wednesday, Sept. 23, 2026. (AP Photo)

More than 55,000 Sudanese refugees have crossed into eastern Chad since the start of the year, the United Nations said on Sept. 25, warning that the displacement was accelerating even as aid funding falls far short.

The war between Sudan's regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that erupted in April 2023 has killed more than 200,000 people, aid workers estimate, and has created the world's largest hunger and displacement crisis.

Currently, some 11.3 million people remain forcibly displaced due to the conflict, including 6.4 million
people inside the country and 3.5 million who have fled across borders as refugees, U.N. figures show
Among them are nearly one million who have crossed into Chad, the UNHCR refugee agency said on Sept. 25, cautioning that continued fighting and worsening insecurity in parts of Sudan was now forcing more families to seek safety across the border.

Mamadou Dian Balde, the U.N.'s regional refugee coordinator for the Sudan situation, cautioned that "humanitarian support is not keeping pace with needs."

UNHCR says it so far has received only 18 percent of the $1.6 billion required this year to respond to regional refugee needs linked to the Sudan crisis.

In Chad, Balde said more than 190,000 refugees remained in difficult conditions in border areas, with most refugees now surviving on less than half the minimum amount of water needed daily.