The conflict broke out in April 2023 amid a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF. Since then, fighting has spread across the country, devastating cities, displacing millions of people and pushing parts of the country – including parts of Darfur – into famine conditions.
Undersecretary-General for Political Affairs Khaled Khiari said fears that the dry season would lead to an intensification of fighting had been confirmed.
“Each passing day brings staggering levels of violence and destruction,“Mr. Khiari told the ambassadors.”Civilians are enduring immense and unimaginable suffering, with no end in sight.“
Kordofan emerges as a new focus of tension
In recent weeks, the conflict has focused on the Kordofan region, where the RSF has made significant territorial gains, capturing Babanusa in Western Kordofan on December 1, followed a week later by the capture of Heglig in South Kordofan, a key oil field and processing center for South Sudanese crude exports.
Kadugli and Dilling, both in South Kordofan, are now under increasingly strict siege conditions, and shelling and drone attacks continue. Reports indicate that SAF personnel withdrew from some areas towards South Sudan, while South Sudanese forces moved into Sudan to protect Heglig oil infrastructure.
“These developments reflect the increasingly complex nature of the conflict and its growing regional dimensions,“Khiari warned, warning that Sudan’s neighbors could be drawn into a wider war if the situation remains unaddressed.
Deadly drone attacks, blue helmets killed
A particularly alarming trend, U.N. officials said, is the increasing use of drones by both sides. On December 4, a daycare center in Kalogi, South Kordofan, was attacked, followed by an attack on the hospital treating the victims.
“More than 100 people died in this despicable attack, including 63 children,”said Mr. Khiari.
Drone attacks have also directly targeted UN staff. On December 13, attacks hit a UN logistics base in Kadugli, killing six Bangladeshi peacekeepers serving with the UN Interim Security Force for Abyei (UNISFA) and wounding nine others.
UNISFA has launched an investigation under difficult security conditions, while all UN staff have been evacuated from Kadugli until further notice. Khiari stressed that attacks against peacekeepers “may constitute war crimes” and demanded accountability.
The Sudan crisis at a glance
- Increased displacement: Hundreds of people flee South Kordofan villages in recent days; More than 15,000 have arrived in White Nile State since the end of October.
- Darfur Exodus: More than 107,000 people displaced from El Fasher and its surroundings between the end of October and the beginning of December.
- New arrivals: At least 2,500 displaced people arrived last week in the town of Sheria, South Darfur, in urgent need of food, health and humanitarian aid.
- Deadly drone attacks: More than 100 civilians were killed in drone attacks between December 4 and 16 in South Kordofan: a daycare center and a hospital were attacked. Separate drone strikes hit a UN base and a market in Al Malha, northern Darfur, killing peacekeepers and civilians.
- Healthcare under attack: Sixty-five attacks on healthcare facilities this year, killing more than 1,600 people.
For more information, visit our UN News In Focus section on the conflict in Sudan
The humanitarian crisis deepens
Edem Wosornu, Director of Crisis Response at the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), said Civilian suffering was expanding on multiple fronts, and Kordofan was emerging as a new epicenter of humanitarian needs..
In addition to attacking civilians, aid workers and convoys were also attacked, injuring aid workers, severely impacting life-saving programs and forcing UN agencies and NGOs to relocate staff from several locations due to insecurity.
Meanwhile, conditions in Darfur remain catastrophic. The UN continues to receive reports of mass killings and sexual violence following the RSF takeover of El Fasher earlier this year, including atrocities committed during an April offensive in the Zamzam displaced persons camp.
Calls for protection, access and peace
As the conflict approaches 1,000 days, both officials urged the Council to act decisively to protect civilians, ensure humanitarian access and push for an immediate cessation of hostilities.
“The Council must send a strong and unequivocal message,” Mrs. Wosornu said: “that attacks targeting civilians and violations of international humanitarian law will not be tolerated.”
Khiari echoed the call and urged international supporters of both sides to use their influence to stop the fighting and support a Sudanese-led political process.
“The United Nations is fully committed,” said, “to work with all international actors to end the violence, for the good of the people of Sudan and regional stability.“