Although many of the displaced have returned to the capital, Khartoum, enormous challenges and dangers to civilians remain there, including from unexploded weapons. Elsewhere, fighting continues “on multiple fronts in Kordofan” further west, OCHA spokesman Jens Laerke said.
Speaking to reporters in Geneva, he said the sieges have isolated the towns of Kadugli – capital of South Kordofan state – and Dilling – a town north of Kadugli -, restricting food, healthcare and access to farms and markets.
Daily drone and missile attacks
Meanwhile, in Darfur “fighting on the ground and drone strikes from the sky continue,” while long-range attacks against civilian infrastructure have also been reported well beyond the front lines, Laerke added.
Children continue to be killed and injured amid ongoing clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces; Eight children were reportedly killed in an attack in Al Obeid, North Kordofan, earlier this week.
According to the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), a staggering 5,000 young people have been displaced every day since the conflict began in April 2023. “Many have been displaced not once but repeatedly, and violence follows them wherever they flee,” said UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires.
He warned that millions of children are also at risk of rape and that survivors include babies. “Behind each of these numbers is a child scared, hungry, sick and wondering why the world hasn’t come to help,” Pires added.
The scourge of sexual assaults
Women are also victims of “rampant” sexual violence and abuse, and some 12 million people – mostly women and girls – are at risk of gender-based violence, according to OCHA. “Female-headed households are now three times more likely to be food insecure and three quarters of these households say they do not have enough to eat,” Mr Laerke said.
The global humanitarian funding crisis has impacted the work of the UN and its partners in Sudan, with only 36 percent of the $4.2 billion requested last year ultimately funded by donors.
In light of this reduced financial support, by 2026, OCHA aims to help 20 million people of the nearly 34 million believed to be in need of humanitarian support in Sudan. The plan has cost 2.9 billion dollars.
“Today our call is urgent: first, an immediate cessation of hostilities and real steps towards lasting peace,” Laerke said. “Secondly, compliance with international humanitarian law, facilitating access across conflict lines and the protection of civilians, including humanitarian workers and civilian infrastructure.”