12-18 July 2026 Sudan News Summary: Ongoing water crisis in El Obeid, impending humanitarian disaster in Darfur, hunger crisis deepens

19 Jul

Arabic news roundup

By William Greenwood

The RSF have knocked the main water sources in El Obeid—the capital of North Kordofan State—out of service, either by seizing control of them or placing them within range of drone strikes, widening the water shortage gap to approximately 70%.
The influx of displaced persons fleeing to El Obeid has further exacerbated the water scarcity crisis with the city’s population more than tripling during the war, having absorbed those escaping battles in South and West Kordofan states, as well as displaced people from Bara and areas of North Kordofan controlled by the RSF.
The "Water Supply Initiative”, with the assistance of humanitarian organisations and benefactors, has implemented emergency solutions such as deploying mobile water tankers to supply neighbourhoods, drilling wells, and where necessary equipping some of them with desalination units.

The General Coordination for Displaced Persons and Refugees has warned of a severe deterioration in humanitarian and health conditions within displacement camps across Sudan.
In a press statement, the Coordination reported that displacement camps are facing an escalating humanitarian and health crisis, driven by the suspension or severe inadequacy of health services and acute shortages of medicines and medical supplies, coinciding with the spread of infectious diseases such as malaria, measles, cholera, and acute watery diarrhoea.
The statement added that women and children are the most affected by the crisis with malnutrition rates reaching alarming levels amidst ongoing shortages of food, potable water, and shelter, alongside rising incidents of gender-based violence and the psychological toll of displacement and the loss of livelihoods.
It further noted that the camps suffer from a critical lack of water and sanitation services, creating an environment conducive to the spread of epidemics and placing additional strain on already limited health facilities.

By Samuel Hunt

More than 100,000 people remain in starvation conditions and nearly 19.5 million face acute food insecurity; the WFP warns the situation is "extremely, extremely serious," with ration cuts hitting vulnerable communities, including in Tawila, as a $646m funding gap forces the agency to cut those it assists from five million to 3.5 million.
Renewed fighting in Darfur has forced the closure of the Tine border crossing from Chad, threatening to reverse recent gains, while fertiliser shortages linked to the closure of the Strait of Hormuz risk worsening the coming harvest.
Sudan's war has "profoundly reshaped" the country's demographics, with an estimated 200,000 killed and over 11 million displaced; with 70% of Sudan's population under 30, experts warn that young people are returning to communities stripped of economic infrastructure, with deep consequences for the country's future.

Bill Greenwood