Rebel violence uproots 9.1 million

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 7 (UPI) -- Half of the estimated 9.1 million internally displaced persons uprooted from rebel violence in Central and Eastern Africa are from Sudan, a U.N. report said.

The ongoing instability stretching from the Horn of Africa region to Central Africa has forced an estimated 9.1 million people to flee their homes, according to a displaced populations report released Tuesday by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

The situation is most urgent in Sudan, where an estimated 4.5 million people are displaced, including 2.7 million in the war-ravaged Darfur region alone.

"Displacement in the region is triggered mainly by intrastate conflicts and natural disasters such as floods and drought, with 72 percent in the greater Horn of Africa region, reflecting mainly the combined internal displacement from the strife-related crises in Sudan and Somalia," the release said.