Sudanese Struggle to Survive in War-Torn Blue Nile
Thousands displaced by escalating conflict in Sudan's Blue Nile region face dire conditions in overcrowded camps.
In an overcrowded camp in Sudan’s Blue Nile state, Awatif Awad has been fighting to keep her five children alive as the region becomes a new front line in the country’s three-year war.
"We are only given one meal a day," she said by phone from the camp, home to thousands of people who had fled a recent surge in fighting between Sudan’s army and the Rapid Support Forces.
My son is five years old.
He has malaria.
There is no medicine for my son," Awad, 38, added from the sprawling Al-Karama 3 Camp in state capital El-Damazin.The conflict in Blue Nile escalated early this year after paramilitary forces overran El-Fasher, the army’s last stronghold in western Darfur.
Since then, the war has pushed east into southern Kordofan and Blue Nile, a resource-rich border region between Ethiopia and South Sudan that serves as a key supply corridor.
The state is now a central battleground where control is strategically significant due to its borders with army-held Sennar and could determine who controls central Sudan.According to Jalale Getachew Birru, a senior analyst at the US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project, at least 450 people were killed in Blue Nile between January and March, the deadliest period since 2023.
The fighting has been fierce, with over 30,000 people fleeing violence across Blue Nile since January.The Al-Karama 3 Camp, originally built to host refugees who had fled earlier conflicts to South Sudan and Ethiopia, is now overcrowded.
Kurmuk saw large-scale displacement over several weeks, with over 11,000 civilians fleeing, according to UN figures.
Conditions in the camp are dire, with poor shelter, sanitation issues, rising risks of gender-based violence, and severe shortages of food, shelter, and healthcare.Local officials say more than 150,000 people have been displaced across Blue Nile since April 2023, with around 100,000 sheltering in Damazin alone.
Community-run emergency rooms providing food, basic health care, and coordination were ordered shut last month without explanation.
The fighting shows no sign of easing, with Sudan accusing Ethiopia of launching drone attacks on several states, including Blue Nile, from Ethiopian territory.If the conflict escalates, vulnerable groups will be greatly affected.
Health and maternity care might completely collapse, while children are already kept out of school.
The continued escalation in this state will only solidify these issues.
"We are only given one meal a day," she said by phone from the camp, home to thousands of people who had fled a recent surge in fighting between Sudan’s army and the Rapid Support Forces.
My son is five years old.
He has malaria.
There is no medicine for my son," Awad, 38, added from the sprawling Al-Karama 3 Camp in state capital El-Damazin.The conflict in Blue Nile escalated early this year after paramilitary forces overran El-Fasher, the army’s last stronghold in western Darfur.
Since then, the war has pushed east into southern Kordofan and Blue Nile, a resource-rich border region between Ethiopia and South Sudan that serves as a key supply corridor.
The state is now a central battleground where control is strategically significant due to its borders with army-held Sennar and could determine who controls central Sudan.According to Jalale Getachew Birru, a senior analyst at the US-based Armed Conflict Location and Event Data project, at least 450 people were killed in Blue Nile between January and March, the deadliest period since 2023.
The fighting has been fierce, with over 30,000 people fleeing violence across Blue Nile since January.The Al-Karama 3 Camp, originally built to host refugees who had fled earlier conflicts to South Sudan and Ethiopia, is now overcrowded.
Kurmuk saw large-scale displacement over several weeks, with over 11,000 civilians fleeing, according to UN figures.
Conditions in the camp are dire, with poor shelter, sanitation issues, rising risks of gender-based violence, and severe shortages of food, shelter, and healthcare.Local officials say more than 150,000 people have been displaced across Blue Nile since April 2023, with around 100,000 sheltering in Damazin alone.
Community-run emergency rooms providing food, basic health care, and coordination were ordered shut last month without explanation.
The fighting shows no sign of easing, with Sudan accusing Ethiopia of launching drone attacks on several states, including Blue Nile, from Ethiopian territory.If the conflict escalates, vulnerable groups will be greatly affected.
Health and maternity care might completely collapse, while children are already kept out of school.
The continued escalation in this state will only solidify these issues.