IRC: Three years on, Sudan's war has spiraled into a full-scale regional catastrophe as warnings go unheeded
Nairobi, Kenya, April 14, 2026 - Three years since conflict erupted in Sudan, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) warns that a preventable catastrophe has been allowed to escalate into one of the largest and fastest growing humanitarian crises in the world whilst hostilities in the Middle East and closure of key shipping routes and airspaces risks further driving humanitarian need. Despite years of warnings, inaction has fuelled relentless violence, mass displacement and economic collapse, pushing millions of people in Sudan and across the region to the brink. Around 14 million people have been forced from their homes since the war began, many multiple times. Over 4.5 million Sudanese have fled across borders into Chad, Egypt, South Sudan, Libya, Uganda, Ethiopia and the Central African Republic. Inside Sudan, 29 million people face acute food insecurity, with famine conditions alre
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Nairobi, Kenya, April 14, 2026 - Three years since conflict erupted in Sudan, the International Rescue Committee (IRC) warns that a preventable catastrophe has been allowed to escalate into one of the largest and fastest growing humanitarian crises in the world whilst hostilities in the Middle East and closure of key shipping routes and airspaces risks further driving humanitarian need. Despite years of warnings, inaction has fuelled relentless violence, mass displacement and economic collapse, pushing millions of people in Sudan and across the region to the brink. Around 14 million people have been forced from their homes since the war began, many multiple times. Over 4.5 million Sudanese have fled across borders into Chad, Egypt, South Sudan, Libya, Uganda, Ethiopia and the Central African Republic. Inside Sudan, 29 million people face acute food insecurity, with famine conditions already taking hold in some areas. What began in April 2023 as a conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has become a sustained assault on civilians. Entire cities lie in ruins. Health systems have collapsed. Water networks have been destroyed. Food supply chains have been shattered. Millions remain trapped in active conflict zones with little or no access to food, healthcare or safe water. The continued destruction of livelihoods and basic services is driving hunger, disease and further displacement at a terrifying pace. David Miliband, IRC's CEO and President, said, "The Iran War must not blind us to the ongoing catastrophe in Sudan - the world's largest humanitarian crisis. After three years of war, it is not only the world's largest humanitarian crisis, but also the starkest proof yet of the devastating cost of the New World Disorder and international neglect. Diplomacy has failed, international law is violated with impunity and rampant war economies and support from regional actors drive violence, causing record breaking civilian suffering