The newly appointed interim Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Kristine Hambrouck, expressed alarm over the recent wave of attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, noting that they represent a blatant violation of international humanitarian law. Her statement comes as the situation in Sudan is worsening amid ongoing fighting, mass displacement, and mounting health emergencies.
“On May 30, Eldaman International Hospital in Al Obeid, the state capital of North Kordofan, was struck in a reported drone attack that killed at least six health workers and injured more than 15 others,” Hambrouck said in a statement on Sunday.
“Patients and medical personnel were caught in the line of fire inside a facility dedicated to healing and hope. Hospitals are not battlegrounds — they are protected under international law and must be respected as such.”
The day before, on May 29, the UN World Food Programme's premises in Al Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State, were repeatedly shelled, significantly damaging a key humanitarian hub. According to the WFP, its staff were safe and accounted for.
Both attacks were reportedly carried out by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
“These facilities are essential to sustaining life in the face of a worsening humanitarian crisis. Attacking humanitarian assets puts millions at risk, depriving them of the critical aid they rely on to survive,” Hambrouck said.
“These attacks must stop immediately.”
The Humanitarian Coordinator called on all parties to the conflict to honor their obligations under international humanitarian law and to protect civilians and civilian objects.
“Humanitarian personnel and facilities must never be targeted. Those who attack them must be held accountable,” she said.
The UN humanitarian chief and Emergency Relief Coordinator, Tom Fletcher, has also expressed alarm over these attacks. In a social media post on Monday, Fletcher said that civilians, medics, and aid workers are caught in the crossfire and stressed that these attacks must stop.
The Darfur and Kordofan regions are among the parts of Sudan most affected by escalating hostilities.
In a recent report, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF has escalated sharply in the Kordofan region. This has triggered widespread displacement and cut off humanitarian access.
OCHA warned that intense shelling in recent weeks has deepened an already dire crisis, leaving thousands of civilians trapped without food, water, or medical care.
The three Kordofan states — North, South, and West — sit at the heart of Sudan and serve as crucial routes for delivering aid to Darfur. At the same time, needs within Kordofan are growing rapidly. Famine is a real risk in some locations, underscoring the urgent need for sustained and safe access to humanitarian aid.
However, insecurity, shifting frontlines, and the vast distances to key logistics hubs, such as Port Sudan in the east and the Adre border crossing in the west, continue to severely restrict operations. Meanwhile, heavy fighting has blocked key humanitarian routes through the Kordofan region.
According to OCHA, without urgent, safe, and sustained humanitarian access, the lives of hundreds of thousands in the Kordofan region hang in the balance.
On April 15, 2023, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF paramilitary launched a brutal war that has caused an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe. More than 30 million people, including over 16 million children, require urgent assistance in what is the world's largest humanitarian emergency.
As a result of the war, Sudan is facing the world's largest hunger crisis. Across the country, some 25 million people — half the population — are facing acute hunger. Nearly 5 million children and lactating mothers are acutely malnourished. Sudan is the only place in the world where famine has been confirmed in multiple areas, and it continues to spread.
Famine has been declared in ten locations in Sudan: eight in North Darfur State, including Zamzam Camp, and two in the Western Nuba Mountains. Another 17 areas, including parts of Darfur, the Nuba Mountains, Khartoum, and Gezira, are at risk of famine.
The World Food Programme is doing as much as the situation allows to scale up food and nutrition assistance to reach seven million people monthly, prioritizing communities facing famine or at high risk of it.
In addition, Sudan is experiencing the world's largest displacement crisis. Since the war began in April 2023, more than 13 million people have been forced to flee their homes, including over 4 million who have crossed into neighboring countries. The ongoing conflict has claimed an estimated 150,000 lives.
Sudan's health system is collapsing, and diseases are spreading. As of April 2025, the country has reported nearly 60,000 cholera cases, resulting in over 1,640 deaths.
Meanwhile, the funding gap needed to address the massive humanitarian crisis within the country remains staggering. The Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan calls for US$ 4.16 billion to provide life-saving assistance to 21 million of the most vulnerable people, but to date, it is only 14 percent funded.