Clashes intensify in Sudan as UN warns 8.4 million face hunger

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) stated that 8.4 million people in Sudan will require nutritional assistance in 2026, including around 5 million children under the age of five and 3.4 million pregnant or breastfeeding women, according to Asharq Al-Awsat on January 20th. 

The humanitarian situation is expected to deteriorate further as fighting between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) continues in the regions of Kordofan and Darfur. The escalation of the conflict in western Sudan is exacerbating an already unprecedented humanitarian crisis.

According to the United Nations, since the beginning of January, road blockades and sieges imposed on several cities have made the distribution of food and healthcare to the civilian population virtually impossible.

The cities of Kadugli and Dilling in the state of South Kordofan are under a tight siege imposed by the RSF and their allied militia, the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement, since the early months of the conflict. Artillery shelling and drone attacks against the cities have been frequent and continue unabated. According to local sources, in addition to SAF troop concentrations being targeted, densely populated areas such as markets have also been hit. Continuous attacks on civilian infrastructure have led to the displacement of 800,000 people.

However, the situation is not limited to Kadugli and Dilling, as heavy fighting has also been reported across large parts of North Kordofan. The widespread use of drones, striking vital infrastructure in cities and descending on densely populated areas, has become a defining feature of Sudan’s bloody civil war. This month, several drone attacks were documented on El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan. Local sources report that at least 13 people, including women and children, have been killed in recent attacks on the city.

Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, during a visit to Port Sudan, expressed concern that the crimes committed during the capture of El-Fasher could be repeated in Kordofan. Türk also stressed that the proliferation of drones, in the hands of both the RSF and the SAF, is prolonging the conflict and worsening the humanitarian crisis in the country. The international community, the UN Commissioner concluded, must ensure that those responsible for the horrific violations in Sudan are held accountable, regardless of their affiliation.

Asharq Al-Awsat, Maghrebi.org