More than 200,000 people have been newly displaced across Sudan’s Kordofan region due to intensified fighting since late last year, according to the Aljazeera. The escalating crisis is driven by continued drone attacks targeting critical water and electricity infrastructure in el-Obeid, the region’s largest city.
Mass Displacement Surges Across Kordofan and Blue Nile
The International Organization for Migration warned that seasonal flooding in nearby North Darfur state has further compounded the unfolding emergency. In Kordofan’s Sheikan district, which encompasses el-Obeid, displacement has surged by 25 percent over the past eight months.
IOM Director General Aljazeera stated, The warning signs are impossible to ignore. Across Sudan, families are fleeing violence, losing access to water, electricity, and healthcare, and now facing the added burden of destructive floods.
Infrastructure Attacks and Sieges Paralyze El-Obeid
In el-Obeid, drone attacks by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on the city’s main electrical transformer have knocked out power supplies essential for pumping water, operating health facilities, and maintaining telecommunications, according to the UN News.
The Sudanese army-held city has endured one of the longest sieges of the war. Reporting from a main road leading into el-Obeid, journalists described a route where RSF drones have targeted army vehicles, oil tankers, and cargo trucks. While the RSF maintains positions south and west of the city and continues to attack nearby villages, el-Obeid has seen its population swell from 750,000 before the war to an estimated 3.4 million, according to the Aljazeera. Additionally, Save the Children reported that nearly 39,000 children arrived in the city during the first six months of the year.
Flooding and Conflict Compound Crises in Darfur and Blue Nile
The wider humanitarian landscape remains severely strained by concurrent conflicts and weather emergencies across multiple states:
- North Darfur: Heavy rainfall in the Tawila area damaged nearly 1,350 homes, displacing more than 1,000 families, while additional flooding in Kabkabiya and Shangil Tobaya forced dozens of families into temporary shelters (UN News).
- West Darfur: Approximately 18,000 people were displaced during the first half of August (Aljazeera).
- Blue Nile State: Clashes in and near Geissan displaced 7,800 people, with some individuals crossing the border into Ethiopia (UN News). Separately, the independent Anadolu Ajansı reported that more than 5,000 people arrived in the capital of Damazin facing severe shortages of food, medicine, and shelter.
Broader Humanitarian Toll and Response Operations
The war in Sudan, which erupted in April 2023 amid a power struggle between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary UN News, has killed at least 59,000 people and internally displaced roughly 8.6 million people. More than 4.2 million individuals have fled to neighboring countries since the conflict began.
Amid global supply chain disruptions affecting the Red Sea and Strait of Hormuz, relief organizations are attempting to scale up distribution. The UN News delivered 1,750 metric tons of humanitarian supplies over a recent 72-hour period, benefiting 110,750 people with hygiene kits and tents. However, UN officials emphasize that nationwide, 33.7 million people require humanitarian assistance as infrastructure destruction and active fighting continue to impede aid delivery.
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