Heavy fighting in Sudan has led to 700,000 people being internally displaced since the middle of April, the United Nations said on Tuesday, adding the figure had doubled in a week.

Sudanese evacuees wait before boarding a Saudi military ship to Jeddah port, at Port Sudan, Sudan, late Tuesday, May 2, 2023. (Photo: AP)

"There are now more than 700,000 internally displaced by the fighting which began on April 15," Paul Dillon, spokesman for the International Organization for Migration said, adding: "Last Tuesday, the figure stood at 340,000."