150,000 Displaced in Blue Nile as Thousands Face Starvation on Ethiopian Border

5 June 2026

150,000 displaced in Blue Nile as thousands face starvation on Ethiopian border

Addis Ababa — More than 150,000 people have been displaced from southern Blue Nile region as fighting continues between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF-SPLM-N alliance, with thousands stranded near the Ethiopian border in dire conditions without food, water, or shelter, a civil society initiative has warned.

Ali Hajo, a member of the Blue Nile Civil Society Initiative, told Sudan Tribune that displaced people from Qaisan locality and surrounding villages are facing extremely harsh humanitarian conditions near the Ethiopian border — sleeping in the open, with women and children bearing the worst of the crisis amid a near-total absence of aid.

He said more than 150,000 people have fled the southern districts of the region to the cities of Ad-Damazin, Roseires, Gunais Sharq, Wad al-Mahi, and other areas as a result of ongoing fighting in their home areas. Heavy military confrontations have been underway for months in the eastern part of the region between the army and the RSF-SPLM-N alliance.

Hajo called on the United Nations, the African Union, and all international and regional mechanisms engaged with the Sudanese file to press all warring parties to agree to an immediate ceasefire or a comprehensive humanitarian truce to allow aid to reach those affected and ease civilian suffering.

He also called on all parties to respect human rights and international humanitarian law, and to open safe humanitarian corridors to ensure unimpeded delivery of relief.

Hajo additionally called on regional security agencies to halt what he described as a campaign of arrests and detention of civilians on charges of “collaboration,” end enforced disappearances, and release those detained.

He urged all Sudanese parties to “let wisdom prevail,” respond to the suffering of the Sudanese people, and engage in dialogue and negotiation toward a comprehensive peaceful solution that ends the war.