The escalating conflicts in Sudan and the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have deepened the humanitarian crisis, requiring an urgent increase in life-saving support for refugees and internally displaced persons, a senior United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) official has said.

NAIROBI, March 10 (Xinhua) -- The escalating conflicts in Sudan and the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have deepened the humanitarian crisis, requiring an urgent increase in life-saving support for refugees and internally displaced persons, a senior United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) official has said.

Mamadou Dian Balde, UNHCR's regional director for the East and Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes region, said the eruption of conflict in Sudan in April 2023 has triggered a refugee crisis, spilling over into neighboring countries.

"In less than two years, over 3.7 million people have left Sudan and found themselves in Egypt, Chad, South Sudan, Ethiopia, Libya, and the Central African Republic. It is a very dire situation," Balde said in a recent interview with Xinhua in Nairobi, the Kenyan capital.

He commended governments and communities in host nations for providing life-saving support to Sudanese refugees but stressed the need to relocate them to safer areas away from border points.

"The civilians displaced by the Sudan conflict are requesting humanitarian assistance and a cessation of violence to enable them to return to their ancestral homeland," Balde said.

The UNHCR and its partners are working with regional governments to offer emergency assistance, but a long-term solution to the refugee crisis hinges on durable peace and stability, he emphasized.

Women, children, the elderly, and disabled persons remain a priority for humanitarian support, Balde said, calling on donors to increase support to meet the emergency needs of Sudanese refugees.

"More is needed so that we can prevent this conflict. I see millions of people obliged to leave their homes because of this conflict. The call for peace, the call for regional organizations to contribute to making peace, is essential," he said.

In addition to Sudan, the ongoing conflict in the eastern DRC has worsened the humanitarian situation, generating more refugees and internally displaced persons and further straining available resources for humanitarian response.

"Before January, there were over 800,000 DRC refugees in the Great Lakes region, including Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi, and Rwanda," Balde said.

Since January, over 61,000 people fleeing conflict in the eastern DRC have crossed into Burundi, while more than 18,000 have entered Uganda, he disclosed.

Balde underscored the importance of regional mediation efforts to end the violence in the mineral-rich eastern DRC while stressing the urgency of scaling up humanitarian support for newly displaced refugees.

"UNHCR and partners are providing life-saving support to civilians fleeing from the latest conflict in eastern DRC, but lasting peace is key to containing the unfolding refugee crisis," he said.

Balde highlighted the role of regional blocs in formulating policies to help refugees in the Great Lakes region become self-reliant through education and livelihood support.

"What we need is to implement these policies that help refugees take care of themselves and become self-sufficient. This is our medium- to long-term priority so that refugees rely less on humanitarian assistance," Balde said.

As conflicts in Sudan and the DRC persist, humanitarian agencies continue to face funding shortages, further complicating efforts to provide adequate assistance.

Balde reiterated the need for global support, urging international donors to step up contributions to sustain life-saving interventions and support refugees in rebuilding their lives.