Escaping Sudan: Home alone, with warplanes overhead.

Panicked by the sounds of shooting and warplanes flying overhead, she tried calling her husband at work, only to learn from friends that he had been shot dead.

I spent the night in fear, unable to go out of my house, as people were being killed everywhere - Arafa

No time to mourn

With no time to mourn and no clear plan, she fled Khartoum with her two young children in a desperate bid to escape. Setting out by bus, she arrived in Madani, a city 135 kilometres southeast of Khartoum, where a local man offered to help them leave the country.

Together with five others, they were driven to Port Sudan, the country's main eastern seaport. From there they walked for a whole day before finding transport towards the Egyptian border.

'I was scared, tired, and without hope,' she said, noting that she spent 80 hours without food or water. 'The road was difficult, and the continued sound of gunfire was deafening. I did not think we would make it. I was holding my children in my arms, fearing the war, the journey to asylum, and the long road ahead.'

UN in action

Across the border towns lacing Sudan, UN agencies are working to help those in need. Here is a snapshot of some of what is happening on the ground:

In Chad and Sudan, UN agencies are bringing in more than 70,000 core relief items from its global stockpiles.

In Egypt, the UN is conducting an assessment mission on the needs of people fleeing Sudan.

The UN and the Egyptian Red Crescent are delivering water, food, wheelchairs, and hygiene and sanitary kits to new arrivals.

A social media account and website run by UNHCR offers up-to-date information for refugees in Egypt.

UNHCR launched a preliminary inter-agency regional refugee response plan on Thursday to address urgent financial needs as soon as possible, which requires $445 million to support the displaced until October.

At border crossings, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) provides families with essential items and medical services.

IOM is providing such support services as transportation and accommodation to refugees and returnees at border areas, where the agency has set up transit centres.

The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) continues to support partners to provide life-saving health care, distribute supplies for safe births, and to manage obstetric emergencies through a network of midwives.

WFP provides assistance in the region, and it is urgently appealing for emergency funding, including at least $145.6 million to continue supporting newly...