UNHCR

The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) is warning that the situation for civilians in Sudan’s volatile Darfur region is worsening as fighting between the country’s two rival armed groups escalates and intercommunal tensions rise. OCHA reported Friday that renewed clashes between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Darfur “have killed dozens of civilians and wounded many more; thousands have been displaced and civilian property has been destroyed or damaged.”

The Mouvement du 23 mars (M23) rebel group in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has reportedly advanced into the region's second largest city, Bukavu, after capturing the key town of Goma in January. The advance is causing chaos and panic among residents. Meanwhile, tens of thousands of displaced women, men and children in Goma, with nowhere to go, are being driven from their homes by the M23.

On the fourth anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, United Nations officials reflected on the immense human cost of the conflict, appealing to the world to “never get used to war”. The invasion on February 24, 2022, shattered the peaceful aspirations of an entire continent, but war must never be the new normal, said Annalena Baerbock, President of the UN General Assembly, on Tuesday.

Millions of Sudanese face acute hunger, increased health risks, and death from recoverable injuries because UN agencies have been forced to suspend lifesaving activities in Sudan, where fighting has it made it too dangerous for them to operate in many regions. Clashes between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) continued for 15 consecutive days since 15 April, despite the announcement of an extension of the ceasefire for an additional 72 hours from the evening of 27 April.

The number of people killed in several days of clashes between Syrian security forces and loyalists of former President Bashar al-Assad, followed by large-scale massacres, has risen to more than 1,000, a human rights monitoring group said on Saturday, marking some of the deadliest violence since Syria's civil war began 14 years ago. Since Thursday, escalating hostilities in the governorates of Tartus, Lattakia, Homs and Hama have also resulted in civilian injuries, displacement and damage to civilian infrastructure.

The trauma of mass displacement and humanitarian supply chain disruptions throughout the world are among the devastating impacts of the war in Iran and the wider Middle East, UN humanitarian officials warned on Tuesday. As the conflict shows no signs of easing, the breakdown of supply networks is worsening global hunger, putting up to 45 million additional people at risk and pushing already vulnerable communities closer to catastrophe.

The United Nations humanitarian chief is calling on Sudan's rival military leaders to publicly commit themselves to the safe delivery of humanitarian assistance to millions of people struggling to survive amid escalating fighting. At the end of a visit to the region, Martin Griffiths, the UN undersecretary-general for humanitarian affairs and emergency relief coordinator, said Wednesday the Sudanese people face a humanitarian catastrophe.

United Nations agencies, international rights experts and humanitarian organizations are calling on states to protect refugees and migrants in distress at sea, including by strengthening Search and Rescue (SAR) operations and ensuring that rescuers are not criminalized. The call, issued on International Migrants Day on Wednesday, is prompted by the increasing number of deaths at sea.

Amid the ongoing humanitarian and human rights crisis in Afghanistan, United Nations agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are urgently calling for international support as the country faces one of the largest return movements in recent history. According to the latest UN figures, more than 2.2 million Afghans returned or were forced to return from Iran and Pakistan in 2025 alone. Over 1.8 million came from Iran and nearly 400,000 arrived from Pakistan.

United Nations agencies report at least 850,000 people have been displaced by the fighting between the Sudanese armed forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that started on April 15. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Tuesday, more than 700,000 people are now internally displaced by the fighting. At least 150,000 women, men, and children have fled to neighboring countries, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR).

According to the United Nations, large numbers of children are dying every month from malnutrition, measles and diarrhea, and other preventable diseases in Sudan, where armed conflict has displaced more than 5.3 million people from their homes. Between May 15 and September 14, at least 1,200 children under the age of five died from a deadly combination of a suspected measles outbreak and high malnutrition in nine camps for internally displaced people (IDPs) in Sudan's White Nile state alone.

According to the latest data from the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), cholera has been surging across the continent since January 2025, with 206,789 cases and 4,330 deaths reported. The outbreak is affecting nearly half of the continent's countries, marking a sharp rise in both cases and geographical spread compared to 2024. The overall case fatality rate (CFR) stands at 2.1 percent, underscoring the deadly nature of the outbreak.

More than 11,600 children crossed the Central Mediterranean Sea to Italy without their parents or legal guardians between January and mid-September 2023, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) reports. This is an increase of 60 percent compared to the same period last year, where around 7,200 unaccompanied or separated children made the perilous crossing, UNICEF said in a statement on Friday.

The United Nations is deeply worried about the impact of the fighting on the humanitarian situation in Sudan. After ten days of clashes, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says there are acute shortages of food, water, medicines and fuel, and limited access to communications and electricity while the prices of essential items are skyrocketing. Meanwhile, thousands of Sudanese are fleeing the violence to South Sudan, Chad and Egypt as foreigners are evacuated to their home countries.

Four months into the war in Sudan, humanitarian leaders are highlighting the devastating impact the brutal conflict has had on millions of people whose lives have been destroyed and whose basic human rights have been violated. In a statement issued Tuesday, they called on the parties to the conflict to end the fighting, protect civilians and give humanitarian organizations unfettered access to all people in need in all areas of the country.

The Humanitarian Coordinator in Chad, Violette Kakyomya, warned on Monday that the country is facing multiples humanitarian crises and called for urgent support.  The conflict in Sudan is having a strong impact on neighboring Chad, with nearly 490,000 Sudanese refugees – mostly women and children – having crossed the border into the eastern part of the Sahel country to seek safety. In total, there are currently one million refugees living in Chad. 

As the war in Yemen entered its tenth year this week, millions of Yemenis continue to suffer the long-term consequences of the devastating ongoing conflict. Nine years after Saudi Arabia launched its military offensive, Yemen remains one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. More than half of the country's population - an estimated 18.2 million people - are in need of humanitarian assistance this year. Among them are 9.8 million children.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres is gravely concerned that recent drone attacks in Port Sudan, the main entry point for humanitarian aid into Sudan, threaten to increase humanitarian needs and further complicate aid operations in the war-torn country. In a statement issued by his spokesperson on Wednesday, Guterres warned that this major escalation could lead to large-scale civilian casualties and further destruction of critical infrastructure.