The United Nations is alarmed by intensifying violence in the greater Kordofan region and the growing humanitarian impact of the fighting there.
Farhan Haq, the Deputy Spokesman for Secretary-General António Guterres, said in his briefing on Tuesday that air strikes had reportedly hit residential areas of El Obeid city in North Kordofan State, in recent days, injuring civilians.
Haq quoted the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reporting that conflict in the Kordofan region continued to hinder aid operations, leaving many people in need out of reach. Ongoing battles, he said, had brought the fighting closer to critical pastoral routes, which hindered livestock movement.
“The humanitarian situation elsewhere in the country also remains dire. In Northern state, partners report that nearly 6,000 people newly displaced from North Darfur – many of them older, wounded or suffering from chronic diseases – arrived in Ad Dabbah locality during the last two weeks of May.
“They urgently need healthcare, safe drinking water and protection services, including support for survivors of gender-based violence,” Haq said.
He said cholera remained a threat in Khartoum State despite recent progress in the response by the UN, the partners and local authorities.
Haq disclosed that over 1,300 new cholera cases were recorded by the Khartoum State health authorities between May 26 and June 1, down from 7,000 the previous week.
He, however, noted that while the fatality rate had declined, partners warned that underreporting may be masking the true scale of the outbreak.
OCHA, Haq said further, also reported that while displacement remained staggering, there had been a slight decline in the overall number of people uprooted by the conflict.
Since December, about 1.2 million internally displaced people have returned to their areas of origin — a nearly 90 per cent increase since April. The majority returned to Al Jazirah, followed by Sennar and Khartoum states. Basic services reportedly remain limited in those areas, and returnees would require significant support.
The UN once again called for an immediate cessation of hostilities, protection of civilians, and unimpeded humanitarian access across conflict lines and borders. In addition, greater national and international support is urgently required to scale up the response and meet rising needs across Sudan.