The conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that broke out on 15 April 2023 continued unabated in the first half of 2024, triggering more than 2.2 million internal displacements. Hostilities escalated on several fronts, with most displacements taking place from Al Jazirah state, particularly after the RSF took control of its capital, Wad Madani, in December.

Fighting intensified across the state in the first months of 2024 as the SAF launched a counteroffensive, retaking some villages close to Wad Madani, including Wad Faqisha and Hafira. Around 392,000 displacements were recorded in Al Jazirah between January and April, when data was last available.

The SAF and RSF also fought for control of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, triggering nearly 329,000 movements between early April and the end of June. The city, which was home to 1.8 million people, is the last SAF stronghold in the broader Darfur region. The RSF’s efforts to capture the city have raised the risk of further violence and displacement. 

Fighting also spread to Sennar state in late June, triggering approximately 57,000 displacements. Sennar was already home to more than half a million IDPs, most of whom had fled Al Jazirah and Khartoum states. 

With peace efforts stalled, civilian casualties, displacement and food insecurity continued to increase across the country. There were nearly 10.6 million people living in internal displacement in Sudan at the end of June, the highest figure ever recorded for a single country. 

Background image: Displaced children and families in the Tambasi centre for displaced people in El Fasher, Sudan. Clashes for control of the capital of North Darfur triggered nearly 329,000 movements between early April and the end of June 2024. ©UNICEF/UNI569475/Zakaria

The conflict in Palestine persisted for the first half of the year, leaving around 1.9 million people living in internal displacement at the end of June. In the Gaza strip, beyond the scale of displacement, people were forced to flee time and again, but as the UN had repeatedly highlighted since January, there was “no safe place in Gaza”.

Home to more than 1.4 million people - most of whom had fled northern areas of the strip since the outbreak of the war on 7 October - the southern governorate of Rafah was the scene of a major Israeli operation in May which triggered 1.3 million displacements. Fighting also erupted in the Jabalia camp in North Gaza the same month, triggering another 100,000 displacements. Many people fleeing these major operations moved to Khan Younis, where bombardments persisted. 

Israel’s expansion of its ground operation and repeated evacuation orders further complicated the delivery of humanitarian aid and aggravated the already dire living conditions of IDPs across the strip. By mid-June, the whole territory was classified as facing emergency levels of food insecurity, or IPC phase 4. Around 495,000 people, or 22 per cent of Gaza’s population, faced catastrophic levels or IPC phase 5. 

In the West Bank, a coercive environment characterised by movement restrictions and economic constraints persisted, and the demolition of housing by settlers and Israeli security forces more than doubled since 7 October, triggering nearly 1,400 internal displacements in the first half of the year.  

Hostilities related to the conflict in Palestine also continued along the Blue Line that separates Israel and Lebanon, which left around 60,000 and 97,000 people living in displacement, respectively. 

Background image: A boy sits atop a pile of belongings and supplies in Rafah, Gaza Strip. By mid-June, the whole territory was classified as facing emergency levels of food insecurity.  ©NRC/Amjad Al Fayoumi 

The effects of El Niño continued to be felt across the Horn of Africa in the first half of 2024, as floods hit Kenya, Somalia and Ethiopia during the April-to-May rainy season. Around 473,000 internal displacements were recorded across the three countries, which had also been significantly affected by El Niño in 2023 after an extended drought season driven by La Niña. 

Kenya was the most affected, with over 293,000 movements. The floods also damaged and destroyed property and disrupted services and livelihoods in various parts of the country. As of 18 June, 81 displacement sites were hosting 54,000 people in the counties of Busia, Garissa, Homa Bay, Kisumu, Migori and Tana River. Others sought refuge with host communities. 

In neighbouring Somalia, heavy downpours and floods triggered around 97,000 displacements in the south of the country. As in previous rainy seasons, the city of Beledweyne in Hiraan region was severely affected when the Shabelle river burst its banks, triggering around 51,000 movements and underscoring urban communities’ recurring vulnerability to flooding. 

More than 83,000 displacements were reported across several regions of Ethiopia, notably Afar, Amhara, Central Ethiopia, Oromia, Somali and South Ethiopia. Oromia was the most affected, particularly its Guji and West Guji zones. The floods took place during ongoing cholera and malaria outbreaks, and aggravated the country’s fragile food security situation.

Background image: Flooding in Beledweyne, Hirshabelle State, Somalia. Heavy downpours and floods in April and May triggered around 97,000 displacements in the south of the country. © IOM 2023/Claudia Rosel

The state of Rio Grande do Sul in southern Brazil experienced above-average rainfall between 24 April and 19 May, which caused widespread flooding. A combination of El Niño conditions, warmer temperatures in the Atlantic Ocean and humidity from the Amazon fuelled the intensity of the hazard. Around 775,000 displacements were recorded across 478 of the state’s 497 municipalities, with more than half reported in São Leopoldo, Canoas, Guaíba and Eldorado do Sul. It was the country’s largest disaster displacement event since data became available in 2008. 

The floods caused widespread destruction and severely disrupted basic services and infrastructure, including transport and communication networks. More than 1.7 million people were affected, including 41,000 refugees and people in need of international protection, as well as more than 80 indigenous communities across the state. Communities were isolated for days, and more than half a million people and 110 hospitals were left without power and drinking water. Flights in and out of Porto Alegre airport were suspended, which impeded relief efforts. The government declared a state of public calamity on 6 May and called on federal authorities and international aid agencies to provide further support for those affected, including those whose homes had been damaged or destroyed. 

IDPs’ most pressing need was for shelter, which required a significant mobilisation of resources. The state governor announced the establishment of “temporary cities” in sport and cultural facilities across Canoas, Guaíbato, Porto Alegre, and São Leopoldo on 17 May, intended to improve people’s precarious living conditions in the immediate aftermath of the disaster.  

Around 389,000 people were still living in displacement in Rio Grande do Sul at the end of June. 

Background image: A group of rescue workers navigate a flooded street to evacuate residents in Porto Alegre, Brazil. Widespread flooding caused by heavy rains triggered around 775,000 internal displacements, making it the country’s largest disaster displacement event. © Jefferson Bernardes/Getty Images

Internal displacement associated with criminal violence continued to rise across Haiti, with over 271,000 movements recorded in the first half of 2024. This figure represents a record for the country, which witnessed increasing displacement due to violence since 2019, when only 2,100 movements were recorded. 

This period was marked by increased coordination between criminal groups, as gang leaders formed coalitions and called for uprisings in an effort to overthrow the government. On 29 February, several criminal groups conducted coordinated attacks across Port-au-Prince, including at the country’s international airport and several prisons. Almost 15,000 movements were recorded as a result, and displacement sites had to shut down as a result of the rising insecurity. Over 75,000 were recorded in the following weeks as growing numbers of people left the capital in search of safety. 

Movements in recent years were concentrated within the metropolitan area of Port-au-Prince, but 68 per cent of people living in internal displacement in the first half of 2024 were doing so in other provinces. The number of new displacements also increased in each province, pointing to an expansion of violence beyond the capital. 

Around 575,000 people were living in displacement as a result of conflict and violence across Haiti as of the end of June. 

Background image: The Petionville neighbourhood in Port-au-Prince, Haiti. At the end of June 2024, around 575,000 people were living in displacement, a record number for the country. © Giles Clarke/Getty Images

Kazakhstan and south-west Russia were affected by severe spring floods in the first half of the year, which triggered around 162,000 displacements across the two countries between late March and May. Such events are common in the area, but the 2024 floods fell far outside the norm as a result of unusually heavy rainfall and high temperatures that led to early snowmelt. The floods’ impact on the local population was extensive, highlighting the vulnerabilities in infrastructure and emergency response mechanisms in both countries. 

Kazakhstan declared a state of emergency in 10 of its 17 regions in response to what authorities deemed one of the country’s worst disasters in more than 80 years. The floods triggered nearly 120,000 evacuations, about a quarter of which took place in the Zhylyoi district of Atyrau region. Half of this district's population was evacuated over the course of six days and 70 per cent of its main town, Kulsary, was flooded. The annual average number of disaster displacements in Kazakhstan is 5,500, which shows how much of an outlier this event was.  

Russia recorded nearly 43,000 displacements. The majority took place in Orenburg oblast as a result of a dam burst and flooding in the city of Orsk as water levels in the Ural river rose. The regional government’s preparations fell short because they were based on forecasts that were exceeded 10 to 30-fold.

Background image: A flooded neighbourhood in Orenburg oblast, Russia. Severe spring floods in south-west Russia in the first half of 2024 led to more than 43,000 internal displacements, the majority in Orenburg oblast. © Russian Red Cross