United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Friday called on governments in Africa to allow civilians fleeing Sudan into their territories.

Development Diaries reports that the fighting between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has forced about 100,000 people to flee to neighbouring countries.

The fighting has also hindered aid deliveries in Sudan, where about one-third of people already relied on humanitarian assistance.

‘We are advising governments not to return people to Sudan because of the conflict that’s going on there’, UNHCR’s Director of International Protection, Elizabeth Tan, told reporters at a briefing in Geneva.

‘This applies to Sudanese nationals, to foreign nationals, including refugees who are being hosted in Sudan, stateless persons, as well as those who do not have a passport or any other form of identification’.

Tan said there was no indication that civilians from Sudan were not being allowed to enter neighbouring countries, even though there was a build-up of people at the border with Egypt.

It is understood that essential goods are becoming scarce, especially in the capital, Khartoum, and families are struggling to access water, food, fuel and other critical supplies.

The UN has reported that vulnerable people are unable to leave worst-hit areas as transportation costs have risen exponentially, while those injured in the violence are finding it difficult to access urgent health care.

More than 15 million people faced severe food insecurity in Sudan before the conflict began in April. ‘We expect these numbers to grow significantly as the fighting continues’, the World Food Programme (WFP) said in a statement this week.

Available data from the UN shows that one-third of the Sudanese population, 15.8 million, people are in need of humanitarian aid.

Furthermore, 3.7 million people are internally displaced, mostly in Darfur and, at least four million children, pregnant and lactating women are severely malnourished.

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