The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has expressed extreme concern over the impact of escalating violence on civilians in Sudan, especially in Kordofan and North Darfur. On Friday, OCHA reported that the humanitarian situation in the besieged towns of Dilling and Kadugli in South Kordofan has continued to deteriorate.
Both locations are becoming increasingly cut off, with supplies dwindling rapidly and the prices of food and other essentials skyrocketing. Famine has been confirmed in Kadugli, and it is believed to be ongoing in Dilling.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports that civilians who have left the towns have arrived in several other locations in the Kordofan region and in the neighboring state of White Nile. IOM also confirms ongoing displacement in North Kordofan State.
Meanwhile, conflict and insecurity in North Darfur State continues to cause displacement, including across the border into Chad, and cross-border movements of civilians into Chad are anticipated to persist in the coming weeks.
Since the last attack on El Fasher in North Darfur at the end of October, tens of thousands of refugees and returnees have crossed into Chad, according to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR). Chad is currently hosting approximately 903,000 Sudanese refugees who escaped the conflict that began in Sudan in April 2023.
After extensive humanitarian negotiations, the UN conducted a security assessment in El Fasher last week, the first such mission since the city was besieged over 500 days ago. The team spent several hours on the ground, visiting the Saudi hospital and speaking with people trapped in the city. According to UN staff, there is a severe lack of basic supplies and services.
Humanitarian convoys carrying food and other lifesaving items have been blocked from entering El Fasher, where famine rages on, for months. Hundreds of thousands of civilians have fled the city and its surrounding areas in recent months, while humanitarian workers continue to provide protection and life-saving assistance to those who have fled.
On Monday, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) reported that a nutrition survey in the Um Baru locality of North Darfur found that more than half of children under five are acutely malnourished. One in six children suffers from severe acute malnutrition, a life-threatening condition that can kill a child in weeks if left untreated.
Conducted between December 19 and 23, the survey screened nearly 500 children and found a global acute malnutrition (GAM) rate of 53 percent, with 18 percent suffering from severe acute malnutrition (SAM) and 35 percent from moderate acute malnutrition (MAM).
These rates are among the highest recorded in a standardized nutrition survey anywhere in the world and exceed the World Health Organization (WHO) emergency threshold of 15 percent by more than three times.
“When severe acute malnutrition reaches this level, time becomes the most critical factor,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell in a statement on Monday.
“Children in Um Baru are fighting for their lives and need immediate help. Every day without safe and unhindered access increases the risk of children growing weaker and more death and suffering from causes that are entirely preventable.”
The crude mortality rate has reached emergency levels, highlighting the urgent and grave danger children face. Many Um Baru residents are internally displaced families who recently fled the sharp escalation of fighting in El Fasher in late October.
Amidst all this suffering and horror, there is also some positive news to report. Earlier this week, the Sudanese authorities confirmed that they will extend the authorization for the Adre border crossing into Chad for humanitarian transport until the end of March. This means that this important access point to the Darfur region will remain available for humanitarian aid supplies and personnel.
UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher welcomed the news on Tuesday, reiterating his appreciation to the Sudanese and Chadian authorities for keeping the crossing open. He noted that continued predictable access is essential to saving lives.
In April 2023, fighting erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) when a transition to civilian rule collapsed. This breakdown can be traced back to the overthrow of longtime ruler Omar al-Bashir four years earlier. The ensuing heavy fighting has devastated communities, displaced millions, and turned an already dire humanitarian crisis into a catastrophe.
Since the beginning of Sudan’s brutal conflict nearly three years ago, North Darfur State has been an epicenter of clashes. After capturing El Fasher, the SAF's latest stronghold in Darfur, the RSF set their sights on neighboring Kordofan states.
Sudan, a nation rich in gold and oil—the main drivers of the war and external interference—has become the site of the world's largest humanitarian, hunger, and displacement crises. Out of a population of 47 million, approximately 15 million people have been displaced, including over 10 million internally displaced people.
Due to war, acute food insecurity, malnutrition, disease outbreaks, and worsening climate shocks, more than 33 million people in Sudan require humanitarian assistance in 2026. According to the latest Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) report, over 19 million people are facing critical levels of food insecurity and approximately 375,000 people are experiencing catastrophic hunger.
According to the IPC Famine Review Committee (FRC), famines are occurring in El Fasher and Kadugli — two areas largely cut off by conflict from commercial supplies and humanitarian assistance — where famine thresholds for food consumption, acute malnutrition, and mortality have been surpassed.
The latest report from the FRC warns of the imminent risk of famine in an additional 20 areas of Sudan and states that conditions in the besieged town of Dilling resemble those in Kadugli. However, the IPC cannot evaluate the situation in Dilling due to restricted humanitarian access and ongoing hostilities.