Tales of violence and forced displacement from Sudan

An estimated 11 million people have been displaced since the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces started in April 2023 and spread across Sudan.

Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) currently provides medical care and essential everyday items to displaced people arriving daily in the southern state of South Kordofan, where the Nuba Mountains are located. In the five camps where MSF works, displaced people have shared their testimonies with us, describing the harrowing situations they have lived through and the challenges they continue to face.

Displaced woman

“We lost two of my children on the way”

In Wata, the situation was good [before the war]. We could cultivate groundnuts and bake bread.

They attacked one early morning, before we could eat breakfast. We did not have time to think of anything. We took what we could and fled. We lost two of my children on the way. All the families ran in different directions. I did not manage to meet my children again. Up to now I don’t know where they are. There’s no phone to even know. One of them is 6 years old, the other is 4.

We walked five days until the tractors reached us and we got a ride. We had not eaten anything during those days. When I reached Al Hadra an airplane bombed it and my 15-year-old daughter was killed.

It was the first time I saw bombings. I was in the bush collecting wood for shelter. My daughter had gone to the borehole to fetch water for us. I rushed to my tent and later they [the villagers] brought my daughter’s body to me.

We never knew whose airplane it was. We only know it came and bombed. We don’t know why.

I am not going anywhere again—even if it’s good or bad here, I am not leaving to be bombed somewhere else.

Illustration of a woman looking in fear at a boot about to kick her.

Sudan 2025 © Dora Naliesna/MSF

Generations of displacement and conflict in Sudan

Hundreds of thousands of displaced people are seeking refuge in South Kordofan, according to the Sudanese Relief and Rehabilitation Agency. Before the war started, this region had already experienced waves of displacement during the decades of conflict between the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) and the Sudanese government. Many people have been displaced multiple times, increasing their vulnerability.

Displaced woman

“We crouched on the riverbank so the bullets would not hit us”

I left Dilling in January 2024 after two major attacks. I lived in the Haya Safa area in Dilling, it’s the area where RSF enters Dilling when they attack.

Before we fled, the attacks had lasted one full week. We went to the forest every night to sleep and use the river as protection. We crouched on the riverbank so the bullets would not hit us. When the shootings stopped, we would rush home to get food and water for the children. Early in the morning and late in the evening it was calmer, so we could fetch sorghum and flour. We would eat porridge and boil sorghum for the children.

During an attack I saw a mother who was breastfeeding. They took her boy and threw him away. If you tried to confront them, they could hit you, even shoot the child. For them the boy would grow up and fight back.

If our husbands would try to say anything, it would mean instant death.

When we fled, some families went to Salara, but I went to Hajar Jawad because I know the route. I had to lead three families with eight children in total. Since we reached Julud, I thank God my children haven’t heard the shot of a gun again. But it is dark, there is no light at night, and it is cold, we don’t have blankets. And the cold season is coming.

Black and white illustration of woman crying.

Sudan 2025 © Dora Naliesna/MSF

The Nuba Mountains area is largely controlled by SPLM-N. The influx of people arriving in the region, which is considered safer than other parts of the country, has impacted local communities as well. The poor harvest in 2023 combined with difficulties in accessing basic services and a lack of humanitarian assistance led to widespread hunger during the lean season both inside and outside camps where displaced people are living. MSF teams working on the ground report that many people are in need of health care, food, and water. One man in his 50’s told MSF that soldiers entered Habila, North Kordofan, to kill all the “black people.” He fled to Tungul, South Kordofan where he received some food but where no health service was available, so he fled again.

For women fleeing violence, access to health care is very challenging. “I was in the market when they came,” said one woman. “I tried to defend myself, but they abused me and beat my chest. I still feel the pain today. After the torture I tried to get treatment, but I did not have money to do an X-ray.”

Displaced man

“The militia gathered them in one house and shot them all”

The soldiers [Arab militias] that entered Habila were killing all the Black [Nubian] people. The moment they entered Habila they captured a big part of my family: 13 people, all men. The militia gathered them in one house and shot them all.

My side of the family managed to escape. I ran alone. My children escaped to the other side. Now they are here with me.

Now there is no one in Habila. Everyone has scattered – the Arab militias took control. From Habila I fled to Zalatay which is nearby. But all the people in Zalatay had already escaped as well. Then I got to Tungul, where the situation was worse. I only stayed five or so hours because the Arab militias had also reached there. In Tungul the village helped us with some food but there was no health service. That’s where I found my children again.

From Tungul I went to Korgul displacement camp, which is a six-hour drive. Here things are calm. I feel safe. We want to stay here. But we suffered during the rainy season when there was no food–my children got malnourished but none of them died.

In Korgul we get timber in the bush and sell it in the market, even though sometimes it can be hard to sell it. We get some food in the market. It’s little but it’s enough.

An illustration of a man with a gun pointed at his head.

Sudan 2025 © Dora Naliesna/MSF

Providing care for malnutrition, malaria, and maternal health

MSF runs activities in the Dalami locality and Western Jebel. In the Dalami locality, our teams support Tujur Hospital’s emergency room, maternity services, and malnutrition care, with inpatient wards. In January 2025, MSF conducted 20,185 outpatient consultations and with 459 admissions, 30 percent of them for malaria. The teams have also assisted 119 births and carried out 215 sexual and reproductive health consultations. In Um Heitan, another location where we work, MSF has carried out 6,493 outpatient consultations.

Displaced woman from Lagawa

“The children slept without food”

Since the war broke out, I lost my mother, I lost my father. I lost everything.

The morning of the attack I was at home and my mother was sick. We ran to escape with my children. I carried my mother on a donkey cart as she could not walk. When we were near the mountains, we stopped to bury her. My two brothers were shot and killed during the escape.
When we reached Seba there was no food. The children slept without food. That is when I collected green leaves to cook and feed them. But the children refused to eat the green leaves like that, they don’t like it.

In Um Jumena I feel safe. My daughter is working in the market. This is how I had enough money to pay the consultation when my children were ill, but not enough for the medication.
And there is no place to find treatment for my children who are still malnourished. If the situation in Lagawa is ok, I would like to go back.

Black and white illustration of woman in Sudan.

Unstable security situation makes providing care difficult

MSF has also been supporting health centers, conducting mobile clinics in camps for internally displaced people, and distributing essential items in Western Jebel, but the unstable security situation has made the delivery of medical services challenging.

Our teams in the Nuba Mountains observe extremely inconsistent and insufficient coverage of primary and secondary health care. Where care is available, it is often inaccessible due to distance and insecurity. Moreover, there is an almost complete lack of protection services, which is particularly concerning given the levels of violence people experience or witness, the separation of families, and the lack of shelter.

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Tales of violence and forced displacement from Sudan

“We lost two of my children on the way”

“We crouched on the riverbank so the bullets would not hit us”

“The militia gathered them in one house and shot them all”

“The children slept without food”

We speak out. Get updates.

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Tales of violence and forced displacement from Sudan

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“We lost two of my children on the way”

Generations of displacement and conflict in Sudan

“We crouched on the riverbank so the bullets would not hit us”

“The militia gathered them in one house and shot them all”

Providing care for malnutrition, malaria, and maternal health

“The children slept without food”

Unstable security situation makes providing care difficult

We speak out. Get updates.

Sudan crisis response

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