Security situation in Sudan's Darfur, Kordofan, Blue Nile state, repeated drone strikes targeted in El Obeid

From Security Council Report

What's In Blue 
Posted Tuesday 04 August 2026 - full copy:

Sudan: Closed Consultations

Tomorrow afternoon (5 August), Security Council members will convene for closed consultations on Sudan. Denmark and the UK (the penholder on the file) requested the meeting to receive an update on the humanitarian situation in the country, specifically in light of the ongoing violence in the Darfur and the Kordofan regions as well as in Blue Nile state. In requesting the meeting, these members highlighted the impact of the hostilities on civilians, including continued restrictions on humanitarian operations and attacks on civilian infrastructure that have disrupted essential services, impeded the delivery of medical care and humanitarian assistance, and further exacerbated humanitarian conditions. The anticipated briefer is Lisa Doughten, the Director of the Financing and Outreach Division at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The security situation in El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state, remains alarming. The city is a strategic gateway linking the capital, Khartoum, with the Greater Darfur region and serves as a critical logistical hub for humanitarian operations across Kordofan. Recent reports indicate a significant build-up of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied fighters around the city, accompanied by intensified drone strikes and shelling. OCHA has reported that repeated drone strikes have targeted critical civilian infrastructure in and around El Obeid, including power, fuel, and water facilities, as well as displacement sites. These developments have prompted growing concern among regional and international actors, who have warned of the risk of widespread violations of international humanitarian law (IHL) and international human rights law (IHRL) and stressed the need for urgent action to avert a humanitarian catastrophe. (For more information, see our 25 June What’s in Blue story.)

Meanwhile, in late July, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) launched a major ground offensive in North Kordofan and announced that it had recaptured the Al Sadarat highway and five key towns along the route, including Bara, Um Sayala, and Gebrat al-Sheikh, following two days of intense clashes with the RSF. The highway, which runs north of El Obeid and southwest towards Khartoum, had been a critical corridor for the RSF and, according to analysts, enabled the group to sustain pressure on El Obeid and constrain SAF operations across North Kordofan. The SAF’s recapture of the corridor restores an important supply and movement route, significantly improving its ability to reinforce positions around El Obeid. At tomorrow’s meeting, some Council members may seek Doughten’s assessment of what these developments could mean for humanitarian access.

At the same time, fighting has intensified on other fronts in North and West Darfur states. According to media reports, the RSF has increased drone strikes targeting the town of Tina in North Darfur, which borders Chad, as part of a broader offensive to capture the SAF’s remaining positions in Darfur, including Tina, Um Baru, and Karnoi. On 21 July, at least 21 civilians were reportedly killed and dozens injured when an RSF drone strike hit a vital water source in Tina. In a 23 July update, the international non-profit organisation Armed Conflict Location and Event Data (ACLED) recorded 63 conflict-related fatalities across the Tina, Karnoi, and Um Baru localities since June, highlighting the intensification of fighting along Sudan’s border with Chad.

In a 3 August press release, OCHA noted that a 2 August drone strike in the village of Ghara al Zawiya in North Darfur state reportedly caused dozens of casualties, although the number of civilian casualties could not be independently verified. Media reports citing the Emergency Lawyers Group, a Sudanese human rights monitoring group, attributed the strike to the SAF, saying that it hit a traditional court session—during which people had gathered outdoors to attend hearings on local cases and disputes—and killed at least 35 people.

In Blue Nile state, the security and humanitarian situation deteriorated following the expansion of fighting around the town of Kurmuk and other areas along the Ethiopian border, reportedly displacing approximately 100,000 people across the state, many of whom have sought refuge in the capital, Ed Damazin. In early July, following intense clashes, the SAF retook control of Kurmuk from the RSF and the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) faction led by Abdelaziz al-Hilu. The RSF and the SPLM-N al-Hilu faction had captured Kurmuk in March, using the strategically located town as a base for operations in southern Blue Nile. The fighting has raised concerns over further regionalisation of the conflict, particularly amid allegations of external support to the RSF, including reports of a training and drone infrastructure facility linked to the group in Ethiopia’s Benishangul-Gumuz region and claims that Ethiopian territory has been used as a supply conduit for RSF operations.

Meanwhile, the humanitarian situation in Ed Damazin and other parts of Blue Nile state has continued to deteriorate, with heavy rainfall and flooding compounding the challenges faced by displaced populations. Thousands of people living in displacement sites and temporary shelters have been affected, with several shelters reportedly damaged or destroyed by flooding. Humanitarian actors have also raised concerns over the outbreak of disease amid pressure on already limited health, water, and sanitation services.

More broadly, the health crisis has continued to worsen across Sudan, with multiple disease outbreaks emerging amid the collapse of healthcare services, particularly in conflict-affected areas. The World Health Organization (WHO) announced a new wave of cholera, voicing particular concern about vulnerable populations, including in besieged areas such as El Obeid. In a 27 July press release, OCHA reported more than 2,000 suspected cholera cases and 170 related deaths since May, with the majority of cases recorded in the Kordofan region. OCHA has also noted that the WHO and Sudanese health authorities are responding to a growing dengue fever outbreak, with more than 1,000 cases and five related deaths reported in Blue Nile state in July, alongside more than 130 cases in South Kordofan state.

At tomorrow’s meeting, Doughten is likely to note that developments in Blue Nile, Darfur, and Kordofan underscore the devastating impact of attacks on civilian infrastructure—including healthcare facilities, water systems, and electricity networks—which have disrupted essential services and hindered the delivery of humanitarian assistance. She may also highlight how the increasing use of drones and other advanced weaponry in the conflict is intensifying civilian suffering, with attacks increasingly affecting populated areas and critical infrastructure.

Doughten and several Council members are likely to reiterate calls for the cessation of hostilities and express support for efforts to achieve a humanitarian truce. They may raise broader protection concerns and emphasise the imperative of ensuring accountability for such acts. Some members may also underline the need for a Council response amid the spiralling security and humanitarian situation. They might emphasise the disproportionate impact of the conflict on women and girls, drawing attention to reported incidents of sexual and gender-based violence, including conflict-related sexual violence.

Doughten may also provide an update on efforts by the UN and its partners to respond to the unfolding crisis and highlight the persistent impediments to humanitarian access in regions where needs are rapidly escalating. She may call for enhanced and flexible funding for the humanitarian response in Sudan and stress the urgent need for full, rapid, and sustained humanitarian access. At the time of writing, Sudan’s 2026 Humanitarian Response Plan (HRP), requiring $2.87 billion, was only 40.4 percent funded.

View original: https://www.securitycouncilreport.org/whatsinblue/2026/08/sudan-closed-consultations-12.php

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Sudan: In Zamzam camp, North Darfur, the death rate is catastrophic. At least 1 child dies every 2 hours

🔴 In Zamzam camp, North Darfur, Sudan, the death rate is catastrophic.

At least 1 child dies every 2 hours, often due to treatable illnesses like malaria or malnutrition. An urgent mass mobilisation from the international community is crucial in order to save lives. pic.twitter.com/Lt00T7ODbR

— MSF International (@MSF) February 25, 2024

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Related

Malnutrition and disease are rife at the ‘overwhelmed’ Zamzam camp, a host to 300,000 internally displaced people, one of hundreds in Sudan, where war has displaced nearly 8 million people. The scale is simply terrifying. Zamzam is just one camp. There are hundreds of others in Sudan. 

Read more from The Guardian.org

By Fred Harter in Addis Ababa

Dated Wed, 21 Feb 2024, 13.52 GMT - excerpts:

Inside the Darfur camp where a child dies every two hours

Like most of Sudan, Zamzam has had no phone or internet connection for the past two weeks, but the Guardian managed to talk to refugees through a satellite link. They described a desperate situation, with no clean drinking water and little access to medical treatment. Families share meagre food stores. 

Almost 25% of children are severely malnourished. Dengue fever and malaria are sweeping through the camp. Beyond its perimeters roam militiamen who kidnap or attack women who venture out to collect firewood or grass for their donkeys. Apart from one small distribution in June, no food aid has arrived since fighting erupted across Sudan on 15 April.

Full story: https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2024/feb/21/darfur-sudan-zamzam-camp-child-dies-every-two-hours

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Civilians suffer as ‘perfect storm’ of war, disease and displacement grips Sudan. WHO reports: 10,000 cholera, 5,000 measles, 8,000 dengue, 1.2m malaria

ACCORDING to the World Health Organisation over 10,000 cases of cholera, 5,000 cases of measles, about 8,000 cases of dengue and over 1.2 million clinical cases of malaria, have been reported in Sudan.

The alarming rise comes against the backdrop of over 80 of the 503 health facilities operated by aid organisations either not or only partially functioning due to insecurity and lack of medical supplies or medical personnel.

Read more in UN News report dated Tuesday, 13 Feb 2024 entitled Civilians suffer as ‘perfect storm’ of war, disease and displacement grips Sudan.

© UNICEF/Annadjib Ramadane Maha A Sudanese mother and her children displaced from their home due to the conflict. (file)

Full report: https://news.un.org/en/story/2024/02/1146502

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Agencies consider new aid route into Sudan from S. Sudan as humanitarian crisis worsens, cholera spreads

FIGHTING AND RED TAPE have hampered aid access in Sudan. Hunger and diseases including cholera are spreading. Aid agencies are looking at delivering aid to Sudan on a new route from South Sudan as they struggle to access much of the country. 

The war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has left nearly half of Sudan's 49 million people requiring aid. More than 7.5 million people have fled their homes, making Sudan the biggest displacement crisis globally, and hunger is rising. 

Aid supplies have been looted and humanitarian workers attacked, while international agencies and NGOs have long complained about bureaucratic obstacles to get into the army-controlled hub of Port Sudan and obtain travel permits for access to other parts of the country. Read more.

From Reuters

Reporting by Aidan Lewis

Editing by Christina Fincher

Dated Monday, 15 January 2024, 5:51 PM GMT - here is a copy in full:

Agencies consider new aid route into Sudan as humanitarian crisis worsens

Jan 15 (Reuters) - Aid agencies are looking at delivering aid to Sudan on a new route from South Sudan as they struggle to access much of the country, a senior U.N. official said on Monday, nine months into a war that has caused a major humanitarian crisis.

The war between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has left nearly half of Sudan's 49 million people requiring aid. More than 7.5 million people have fled their homes, making Sudan the biggest displacement crisis globally, and hunger is rising.

Aid supplies have been looted and humanitarian workers attacked, while international agencies and NGOs have long complained about bureaucratic obstacles to get into the army-controlled hub of Port Sudan and obtain travel permits for access to other parts of the country.

"There's a very, very difficult operating environment, very hard," Rick Brennan, regional emergencies director for the World Health Organization (WHO), said in a press briefing in Cairo on Monday.

Aid agencies lost access to Wad Madani, a former aid hub in the important El Gezira agricultural region southeast of Khartoum, after the RSF seized it from the army last month.

The RSF's advance into El Gezira state and fighting that erupted recently involving the army, the RSF and Sudan's third-most powerful military force, the SPLM-North, in South Kordofan, have sparked new displacement.

U.N. and other agencies have been largely restricted to operating out of Port Sudan on the Red Sea coast, and delivering aid from Chad into the western region of Darfur, where there have been waves of ethnically-driven killings.

"We're also looking at establishing cross-border operations from South Sudan into the southern parts of the Kordofan states of Sudan," said Brennan.

DISEASE OUTBREAKS

Health services, already badly weakened when the war broke out in mid-April, have been further eroded.

"We have at least six major disease outbreaks, including cholera," said Brennan.

"We've also got outbreaks of measles and dengue fever, of vaccine-derived polio, of malaria and so on. And hunger levels are soaring as well because of the lack of access of food."

Diplomats and aid workers say that the army and officials aligned with it have hampered humanitarian access as both sides pursue their military campaigns. Activists say neighbourhood volunteers have been targeted.

They say the RSF does little to protect aid supplies and workers, and that its troops have been implicated in cases of looting. Read more.

Both sides have denied impeding aid.

The army and the RSF shared power with civilians after a popular uprising in 2019, staged a coup together in 2021, then came to blows over their status in a planned transition towards elections.

U.N. humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths said in a statement last week that the reasons aid was not getting through were "frankly outrageous".

Customs clearances for supplies coming into the country could take up to 18 days, with further inspections under military supervision that could take even longer, he said.

Photo: A volunteer stirring food to be distributed to people in Omdurman, Sudan, September 3, 2023. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig/File Photo

Photo: People hold pots as volunteers distribute food in Omdurman, Sudan, September 3, 2023. REUTERS/El Tayeb Siddig/File Photo

View original: https://www.reuters.com/world/africa/agencies-consider-new-aid-route-into-sudan-humanitarian-crisis-worsens-2024-01-15/

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Conflict in Sudan is world’s largest displacement crisis

ABOUT 19 MILLION SUDANESE CHILDREN are awaiting schools to re-open. For children, education is about more than the right to learn. Schools can protect children from the physical dangers around them – including abuse, exploitation, and recruitment into armed groups. Should the conflict result in schools remaining closed, this will have devastating impacts on children’s development and psychosocial well-being. Read more.

News and Press Release 

Source OCHA 

Posted 2 Nov 2023 

Originally published 2 Nov 2023

Sudan: Humanitarian Key Messages (November 2023)

● More than six months since fighting erupted on 15 April, Sudan is experiencing a humanitarian crisis of epic proportions. Civilians are paying the price of the ongoing fighting. About half of the population – 24.7 million people, including 14 million children – needs humanitarian aid and protection assistance.
About 5.8 million people are displaced inside Sudan or have fled to neighbouring countries, half of whom are children. Women make up 69 per cent of the internally displaced persons (IDPs), including those in war zones, and data from Chad indicates that 90 per cent of the refugees crossing the borders are women and girls. Similarly in Egypt, the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has recorded that most of the registered households upon crossing the borders were female-headed ones. The conflict – and surging hunger, disease and displacement – threatens to consume the entire country. It is time to silence the guns.

● Millions of people – especially in Khartoum, Darfur and Kordofan – lack access to food, water, shelter, electricity, education, health care and nutrition. As the humanitarian situation deteriorates, the communities’ coping capacity has weakened. Hunger and malnutrition were already at record levels before the fighting, now, an estimated 20.3 million people – 42 per cent of the population – face acute food insecurity. Of these, 6.3 million people are at emergency levels of hunger, only one step away from famine. Over 18 million people lack access to improved sanitation and around 8 million people practice open defecation. About 3.5 million children under five years are acutely malnourished, of whom 700,000 suffer from severe acute malnourishment and are at 11 times higher risk of death compared with their healthy peers. This adds to the burden of care on women and girls and exposes them to multiple risks in the context of the armed conflict.

● Parties to the conflict must put an end to harming civilians and respect international humanitarian law, as agreed under the Jeddah Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan. The parties must allow civilians safe passage. People fleeing conflict – especially women, children and those with special needs – must be able to do so safely. Attacks on hospitals, schools and other essential civilian infrastructure must stop. Access to critical items and services must be guaranteed. All health facilities occupied by parties to the conflict must be vacated. De-escalation, dialogue and a cessation of hostilities are essential to resolve the crisis.

● The spread and escalation of fighting is deeply concerning, especially as the conflict reaches new areas. Hostilities have started to spill over into Aj Jazirah State, Sudan’s breadbasket, which could have grave consequences for the harvest season and agricultural productivity. Shortages of critical inputs like seeds and fertilizers coupled with erratic weather patterns threaten both planting and harvesting. A below average harvest in the coming months would push more people into hunger and others into more severe levels of hunger.

● Protection remains an urgent priority, with an increasing number of reports of sexual and genderbased violence, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, and grave violations of human and children’s rights. Parties to the conflict should not use rape as a weapon of war and those accused of it should be held accountable. As inter-communal tensions mount, the ability to access protection services and support systems reduces. Civilians are at risk of explosive hazards, though the extent and level of new contamination is unknown. Parties to the conflict must protect civilians, including children, from grave violations of their rights.

● The war in Sudan is now the world’s largest displacement crisis. As more refugees flee across Sudan’s borders, host communities in neighbouring countries are struggling. A protracted conflict in Sudan could tip the entire region into a humanitarian catastrophe. Humanitarian partners are working closely with governments in neighbouring countries to respond. New arrivals need protection and assistance.
Moreover, host communities in remote border areas, where services and infrastructure are scarce or non-existent, were already suffering due to climate shocks and food scarcity.

● Outbreaks of diseases pose a growing threat, particularly in overcrowded shelter sites and sites with poor water, sanitation and hygiene. Sudan is already facing outbreaks of cholera, dengue, measles, and malaria. Even in relatively safe locations hosting displaced populations, living conditions are deteriorating. Displacement sites have been flooded during the rainy season, raising the risk of further spread of deadly diseases. Partners must step up to contain ongoing disease outbreaks and mitigate the risks of potential outbreaks. Projections based on Johns Hopkins’ Lives Saved Tool modelling indicate that at least 10,000 children under five years may die by the end of 2023 due to an increase in food insecurity, and disruptions to essential services.

● About 19 million children are awaiting schools to re-open. For children, education is about more than the right to learn. Schools can protect children from the physical dangers around them – including abuse, exploitation, and recruitment into armed groups. Schools serve as centres for multiple services. Children can be reached with life-saving information, food, water, immunizations, healthcare, and hygiene supplies. Teachers and other education personnel can support children’s mental health, providing children with stability and structure to help them cope with the trauma they experience every day and referring children for any necessary additional support. Should the conflict result in schools remaining closed, this will have devastating impacts on children’s development and psychosocial well-being.

● Humanitarians continue to face immense obstacles to assist people in need. Bureaucratic and administrative impediments must be lifted so that aid workers can move supplies more swiftly. Visas, travel permits, and other procedures required to move staff and assistance inside the country delay the delivery of assistance. Looting and attacks against humanitarian personnel, facilities and supplies further compromise the ability of partners to deliver aid and services. The parties to the conflict must adhere to international humanitarian law and guarantee unhindered access for humanitarian personnel and supplies. Aid convoys face threats, roadblocks, restrictions and bureaucratic impediments, while intensified airstrikes and shelling in Khartoum make safe access almost impossible.

● Despite the challenges, humanitarian agencies in Sudan have made strides in accessing people across Sudan, including in hard-to-reach areas. Through both crossline and cross-border movements, convoys have reached East Darfur, North Darfur, South Darfur, West Darfur, North Kordofan states, Jabal Awlia in Khartoum, and other areas. More than 3.7 million people have received lifesaving food, emergency shelter, health, nutrition, protection, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH) and other assistance since 15 April. An estimated 5.2 million people received livelihood assistance. Aid must be scaled up and sustained to reach more people in desperate need. To expand assistance to people in hard-to-reach areas, innovative approaches to working with communities are critical.

● Additional resources are urgently required to support a humanitarian response that was already significantly underfunded prior to the current conflict. Humanitarian actors require US$2.6 billion to provide life-saving multi-cluster assistance and protection services to 18.1 million people through the end of this year. So far, only 33.6 per cent has been received. Additional funds are urgently needed to meet immense needs, including critical funding to national NGOs on the frontlines of the response.

Disclaimer

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)

To learn more about OCHA's activities, please visit https://www.unocha.org/

View full story and map: https://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/sudan-humanitarian-key-messages-november-2023

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Infographic: Sudan Key Figures (1 November 2023)

Source OCHA 

Posted 2 Nov 2023 

Originally published 2 Nov 2023

Download Infographic(PDF | 518.65 KB)

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