KHARTOUM/ ISTANBUL

More than 800 Sudanese civilians fled South Kordofan, in the latest wave of displacement amid attacks by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Tuesday.

In a statement, the UN agency said its field teams recorded the displacement of 310 people from several villages in Abbasiya Tagali locality in South Kordofan due to escalating insecurity.

The displaced have moved to various destinations within Abbasiya locality, the organization said, without specifying the sites.

The IOM said the new wave of displacement brought the number of civilians who had fled the area in the past three days to 1,455 people.

The agency also said that around 500 people fled multiple villages in Abu Karshola locality in South Kordofan to areas in the city of Al-Rahad in North Kordofan due to worsening insecurity.

On Monday, at least 645 civilians had fled Tebsa and Afnori in Abbasiya Tagali locality amid worsening security conditions.

The RSF now controls all five Darfur states, out of Sudan’s 18 states, while the army holds most of the remaining 13 states, including Khartoum.

Darfur makes up about one-fifth of Sudan’s territory, but most of the country’s 50 million people live in army-held areas.

The conflict in Sudan between the army and the RSF, which began in April 2023, has killed at least 40,000 people and displaced 12 million, according to the World Health Organization.