The paper addresses the dearth of studies of displaced people living in urban areas of sub-Saharan Africa through a survey of a particular group of internally displaced persons (IDPs) created by Senegal’s Casamance conflict. Analysis of survey data shows how IDPs used pre-existing rural–urban migration chains and social integration processes. IDP livelihood activities are, however, more urban-based even than those of ordinary townsfolk dur to reduced access to primary production sites.