DRC: nearly 7M to be forcibly displaced within two years

Shafaq News/ Around 6.7 million people could be forcibly displaced across various countries in the next two years due to wars and attacks on civilians, according to the Danish Refugee Council (DRC).

"We live in an age of war and impunity, and civilians are paying the heaviest price," DRC Secretary General Charlotte Slente said in a statement, describing the crisis as a "moral failure."

The number of displaced people worldwide currently stands at 122.6 million, up from 117 million in 2024, the council reported. According to its Global Displacement Forecast, this figure is expected to rise by a staggering 4.2 million in 2025—the highest projected increase since 2021—followed by an additional 2.5 million forced displacements in 2026.

"These are not cold statistics. These are families forced to flee their homes, carrying next to nothing, and searching for water, food, and shelter," Slente affirmed.

Highlighting the root of the crisis, the council called the decision by the US, the UK, and Germany to halt international aid “devastating,” stressing that it has left millions of vulnerable people without essential support. It also condemned US President Donald Trump's decision to cut 83% of USAID’s humanitarian assistance programs, calling it "a betrayal of the most vulnerable."

In Sudan and Myanmar, civil wars are expected to account for nearly half of the projected displacements. The council stated that about one-third of new displacements will occur in Sudan, where it described the humanitarian crisis as "the most urgent in the world." Currently, 12.6 million people have already been displaced within the country and nearby nations.

In Myanmar, the intensifying multi-front civil war has already displaced 3.5 million people, with around 20 million—one-third of the population—requiring humanitarian aid. The country is reportedly expected to see an additional 1.4 million forced displacements by the end of 2026.

Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Syria, Yemen, and Venezuela are also expected to see rising displacement due to a combination of armed conflicts, climate change, the legacy of war, and socio-economic instability.