WorldDisplaced families in El Obeid, besieged by the Rapid Support Forces, are facing acute water shortages after repeated attacks on supply facilities. Tanker drivers describe deadly drone strikes during deliveries, while women say inadequate rations force them to buy more water from donkey-cart vendors and carry it back to their tents.
HealthFighting between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces is placing healthcare under severe strain, with el-Obeid partly besieged. Repeated drone attacks have cut power at one hospital, where daily patient intake is now three to four times higher than last year.
WorldThousands of displaced Sudanese families are sheltering in overcrowded camps in El Obeid as food insecurity and shortages of vital resources worsen. Families are struggling to obtain food and other essentials while Sudan’s humanitarian crisis continues.
WorldNoah Taylor, head of operations at the Norwegian Refugee Council, says people fleeing Sudan’s conflict are caught in worsening food insecurity, repeated displacement and lost livelihoods. Families are taking dangerous routes across front lines and borders to seek safety, while about 13 million people are displaced and many are sheltering in Chad and South Sudan.
WorldSudan’s war has driven more than 1.4 million refugees and returnees into South Sudan, where over 650,000 refugees are running out of food, the World Food Programme warns. With 10 million South Sudanese already food insecure, available resources can support only about three million people, forcing rations down to 50 percent.
WorldThousands are escaping violence in Sudan’s Kordofan region as the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces fight for a strategic supply route. More than 5,000 families reached El Obeid in one week. Army gains have raised hopes of returning for some, while others fear what they will find, amid food shortages and rainfall threatening the harvest.
WorldDisplaced people reaching El Obeid in North Kordofan say fighting between the Sudanese army and the RSF drove them from their homes. One woman said RSF fighters ordered her family to leave at night; she travelled for more than 12 hours with her two daughters, leaving her belongings behind while her husband stayed. Another man described fighters surrounding his village, assaulting residents, stealing money and livestock, and killing people.
WorldFighting between Sudan’s army and the Rapid Support Forces in North Kordofan has driven thousands of civilians to seek safety in Omdurman. The RSF is also accused of carrying out retaliatory attacks against civilians.
WorldEl-Obeid, which has endured one of the longest ground sieges of Sudan’s war, is facing fresh pressure as thousands flee new fighting. Families describe Rapid Support Forces attacks on villages in southern and western North Kordofan. More than 5,000 families arrived in a week, while one centre shelters over 8,500 families, mostly women and children.
WorldThe UN says about 200,000 people have been displaced by fighting in Sudan’s Kordofan region since late last year, while drone attacks hit vital water and electricity infrastructure. The army has reopened the highway from Khartoum to North Kordofan’s capital, el-Obeid, but the RSF still holds positions south and west of the city and continues its attacks.
WorldFamilies from Umarda village in Sudan’s North Kordofan say Rapid Support Forces attacks killed relatives and left others missing as residents fled to El Obeid. The RSF raided several villages after the army retook towns and a key road to Khartoum. More than 200,000 people have sought refuge in El Obeid, where drone strikes have also damaged water and electricity systems.
WorldSudan’s North Kordofan capital, El Obeid, remains under severe pressure as the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces renew their assault. After recently losing ground in the war against the Sudanese Army, the RSF has also intensified drone attacks across the country this week. The conflict, which began in April 2023, has produced what the UN calls the world’s worst humanitarian crisis.
WorldA suicide drone attributed to Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces struck a mosque and nearby homes in Khartoum North, highlighting the expanding danger from attacks in the air to civilians. The Sudanese army said its air defenses stopped additional drones targeting Omdurman, while explosions were heard across the capital. Medical sources said drone attacks in Atbara and El-Obeid killed two people and wounded six. Comparable RSF attacks were also reported in May and June, including one involving Khartoum International Airport.
WorldBusinesses in Khartoum are struggling as Sudan endures a power cut lasting two weeks. Supermarket owner Ahmed Yaqoub checks his generator repeatedly each day and spends about $500 daily on fuel to keep refrigeration equipment operating. Authorities attribute the nationwide blackout to damage at the Merowe Hydroelectric station, which provides more than half of Sudan’s electricity and has been repeatedly targeted since 2023. With an estimated 3,000-megawatt shortfall, many Sudanese cannot afford generators or solar equipment.
World3:20Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces say they have taken large parts of Geisan in Blue Nile State. The paramilitary group is intensifying its attacks across the country’s south. Reports indicate that Sudan’s army has pulled back from some areas, while retaining control of its main military base in Geisan. Al Jazeera correspondent Almigdad Alruhaid is reporting live from Khartoum.
WorldSudan’s army says it is advancing in a counter-offensive against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, more than three years into the conflict. The government has also begun an effort to bring political groups together. The programme examines how consequential these military and political developments may be. Participants include an independent Sudan analyst, a former UN humanitarian coordinator for Sudan and the International Crisis Group’s Horn of Africa director.
WorldAt least 25 bodies have been found in a mass grave in Sudan’s Blue Nile State. The dead reportedly include women, children, older people and medical workers. Local authorities accuse the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces of executing civilians while they held the town of Kurmuk. The RSF captured Kurmuk in February, before Sudanese army forces retook it last month after weeks of intense fighting. Heavy clashes and mass displacement have also been reported in West Darfur.
World10:10The United Nations warns that Sudan may be heading toward another human rights catastrophe. As fighting intensifies, hundreds of thousands of people in El-Obeid have been cut off from food, water and medical supplies. The warning follows the UN’s earlier assessment that the siege of El-Fasher showed signs of genocide. El-Obeid is rapidly emerging as a new focal point and key battleground in Sudan’s civil war.
World2:16The United Nations says drone attacks have become the main cause of civilian deaths in Sudan. They accounted for 80% of civilian casualties during the first four months of 2026. Sudan has been engulfed in an all-out war since April 2023 between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese military. A conflict-monitoring group estimates that at least 59,000 people have been killed, while aid organisations say the toll is likely a substantial undercount.
WorldThe United Nations is warning that drone attacks in Sudan are intensifying. According to the UN, more than 80% of civilian deaths there since the beginning of this year have resulted from drone strikes. Separately, Spain is trying to determine how to deal with more than 1,000 unaccompanied minors still in Ceuta. They cannot legally be deported, leaving authorities to seek another solution.
WorldSudan’s humanitarian emergency has become one of the defining yet least visible crises of the twenty-first century. Dirk Segaar, the IFRC special envoy for Sudan, says the conflict can no longer be viewed only through changing front lines or military developments. He describes a broader collapse of society, with war hollowing out public services, displacing whole communities and accelerating disease. Thirty-five million Sudanese people need humanitarian assistance.