‘Hungry, exhausted, traumatised’: Sudanese scramble to flee their homeland

Thousands of refugees face transport chaos, cash shortages, scammers and visa delays as they race to escape to neighbouring countries

Long queues are building on Sudan's borders, where people fleeing intense fighting are facing daylong waits and demands for visas in order to cross to safety.

On Tuesday, the UN's refugee agency (UNHCR) said it was expecting 270,000 refugees to cross into Chad and South Sudan, including South Sudanese returning home. It did not have projections for Egypt or Ethiopia, where many fleeing from the capital, Khartoum, have headed, or for other neighbouring countries. The UNHCR estimated that, so far, up to 20,000 refugees have crossed into Chad from Darfur, and 4,000 into South Sudan.