UN humanitarian agencies have issued urgent warnings about the deteriorating situation in Sudan, citing escalating violence, widespread hunger and growing risks for civilians trying to flee conflict zones. The latest assessments point to a sharp rise in humanitarian needs as population movements become more desperate and increasingly dangerous.
In Port Sudan, Jacqueline Wilma, Head of Sub-Office for the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), described the mounting difficulties facing residents of Al-Fashir and surrounding areas. She said many civilians remain trapped in the city, while others attempting to flee are being blocked by insecurity or forced to return to areas now engulfed in fighting. Wilma stressed that people are “desperate to escape” but face life-threatening obstacles at every stage of their journeys.
At the same time, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned that Sudan is in the grip of a deepening hunger crisis and a deadly cholera outbreak that has already claimed more than 3,500 lives. WHO spokesperson Christian Lindmeier said the country is confronting one of the world’s most severe food emergencies, with more than 21 million people experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity as of September. He said famine conditions have taken hold in Al-Fashir and Kadugli and now threaten 20 additional areas across Darfur and Kordofan.
The United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) added that the dangers extend beyond hunger and disease. Explosives, unexploded ordnance and active frontlines continue to put civilians at severe risk, particularly in regions where fighting has intensified.
The human rights implications of the conflict were the focus of a special session at the UN Human Rights Council last Friday. Member states discussed the situation in Al-Fashir and a request to deploy a fact-finding mission to investigate reports of mass killings during the city’s fall to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
Sudan has been engulfed in conflict since hostilities erupted between the army and the RSF last year. Large parts of the country are now witnessing renewed clashes, with violence spreading from Darfur — which the RSF seized control of last month — into neighboring Kordofan. Aid groups warn that continued fighting is likely to worsen already dire humanitarian conditions and further restrict access to vulnerable populations.
Humanitarian agencies say that without immediate international support and sustained access to conflict-affected areas, the crisis could deepen dramatically in the weeks ahead.
