The United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Friday that escalating fighting around Sudan’s North Kordofan state capital, El Obeid, could trigger a new wave of displacement and deepen the country’s already severe hunger crisis.
The agency said increased drone strikes, mounting military activity and the threat of an assault on El Obeid could force hundreds of thousands of civilians to flee in search of food and safety.
El Obeid is a key humanitarian hub for the wider Kordofan region, serving civilians facing limited access to food and basic services after months of conflict.
WFP said it is providing food and cash assistance to more than 100,000 vulnerable people in El Obeid and is rushing additional food supplies into the area to prepare to assist more than 250,000 people if conditions worsen.
“We must act swiftly to save lives as per our humanitarian mandate,” WFP Sudan Country Director Abdallah Alwardat said while briefing the agency’s Executive Board in Rome.
He warned that diverting food stocks to El Obeid would reduce supplies intended for pre-positioning ahead of the rainy season, when flooding often makes roads impassable and hampers aid deliveries.
“Our food pipeline in Sudan is under tremendous strain,” Alwardat said. “In September, we will run out of food for our emergency operations across the country, which today reaches just one in five people in need of food assistance for survival.”
WFP said it requires $646 million to sustain emergency food assistance operations in Sudan over the next six months.
The agency joined U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in calling on all parties to the conflict to protect civilians and humanitarian workers, ensure safe passage for those fleeing violence, and allow rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to El Obeid and other affected areas across Sudan.
Sudan has been engulfed in conflict since April 2023, creating one of the world’s largest humanitarian crises, with millions displaced and widespread food insecurity.
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