IOM: Nearly 50,000 Displaced from Blue Nile State by RSF-SPLM-N Offensive — Displacement Camps Overwhelmed

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that nearly 50,000 people have been displaced specifically from Blue Nile State due to the RSF-SPLM-N offensive that opened in February-March 2026. The figure reflects the cascading humanitarian impact of the RSF-SPLM-N capture of Kurmuk on March 23 and subsequent fighting along the Kurmuk–Ed Damazin corridor. Blue Nile State had a significant pre-existing IDP population from earlier conflict phases, but the 2026 offensive dramatically worsened conditions: 73,000 civilians were forced from Kurmuk and surrounding areas immediately after the March 23 fall, with over 4,000 crossing into Ethiopia in March alone. Displacement camps in Ed Damazin, Blue Nile State's capital, are overwhelmed — sanitation infrastructure is deteriorating and food security is critically stressed in a state already hosting pre-war refugees. IOM access to affected areas remains severely limited due to active fighting on the Kurmuk–Damazin front. The Blue Nile displacement adds to Sudan's catastrophic national total of more than 14 million people displaced — the world's largest displacement crisis — which includes approximately 9 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) and 4.4 million+ refugees in neighboring countries. The overall humanitarian situation is compounded by the UN 2026 Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan being only approximately 16% funded despite the April 15, 2026 Berlin Conference pledges, and an RSF-affiliated TASIS administration ultimatum demanding all NGOs in RSF-controlled territory register with a new RSF-backed humanitarian authority or face expulsion. SAF's ongoing counteroffensive in Blue Nile — including the recapture of Khor Hassan — may stabilize the front but will likely produce additional displacement before humanitarian access conditions improve.