NAIROBI, (Xinhua) – The number of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in the Horn of Africa reached 20.4 million in October, up from 19.9 million in August, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Thursday.
The rise was primarily driven by increased displacement in Burundi and Sudan, the UN migration agency said in a report released Thursday.
Sudan alone accounted for 11.4 million IDPs, up from 10.7 million in August, due to ongoing conflict and seasonal floods. This marked the first time Sudan’s IDP count exceeded 11 million since the conflict began, the IOM said.
“There are around 11.4 million newly forcibly displaced people since the outbreak of the conflict in Sudan, including 8.3 million internally and 3.1 million in neighboring countries since the beginning of the conflict in April 2023,” it said.
Other countries with significant IDP populations include Somalia with 3.5 million, Ethiopia with 3.3 million, and South Sudan with 2 million. Key drivers of displacement in the region include conflict, floods from heavy rains, drought, and food insecurity, particularly affecting Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia, according to the UN agency.
The IOM further noted that the Greater Horn of Africa region also recorded 5.1 million refugees and asylum seekers in October, down from 5.4 million in August.
Additionally, 65 million people across the region were food insecure in October, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization and the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), a regional bloc, with 36 million of those affected residing in IGAD member states.
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