28 December 2025-3 January 2026 Sudan News Summary: siege conditions in South Kordofan, kitchens reopen in El Fasher

3 Jan

Arabic news roundup

By William Greenwood

Medical sources revealed on Saturday a severe shortage of medicines and medical supplies, including anaesthesia, amid a surge in the number of casualties from bombing in Dilling.
The RSF and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement-North (SPLM-N) have intensified their shelling of Dilling, the second largest city in South Kordofan State, using artillery and drones. This coincides with airstrikes on Kadugli.
Medical sources stated that "basic medicines and medical supplies, such as gauze and cotton, have run out in Dilling, forcing doctors to perform surgeries without anaesthesia,” noting that this shortage coincides with a rising number of casualties from the bombing, while families are unable to afford medicine due to soaring prices.
The RSF and its SPLM-N allies are preventing the delivery of supplies and medicines to Dilling and Kadugli, where they are besieging the cities in an attempt to seize control.
The sources described the health situation in Dilling as catastrophic, with hospitals overflowing with wounded people in their corridors, a severely deteriorated environment, and a pervasive stench of blood.
From: Sudan Tribune

The Emergency and Health Centre Room in Nyala announced the opening of the first community kitchen in the shelters in El Fasher on Tuesday.
The Emergency Room had dispatched a humanitarian aid convoy to El Fasher at the end of last week, including food and non-food items.
The Room stated on its Facebook page that this is the first community kitchen to begin operating amidst the suffering of children, women, and the elderly in the shelters.
Upon arriving in El Fasher, the Emergency Room conducted a field survey of four of the sixteen shelters to identify needs and prioritise assistance within the displacement sites.
A United Nations delegation arrived in El Fasher last week to assess the situation in the city and met with local authorities.
From: Darfur24

English news roundup

By Samuel Hunt

A United Nations humanitarian team accessed El Fasher for the first time since the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized the city in October, finding it largely deserted and devastated after an extended siege.
Aid workers described the city as a “crime scene,” with only a few remaining residents, mostly too weak, sick or injured to flee, sheltering in empty buildings or makeshift plastic-sheet camps.
Essential supplies are nearly absent: food, clean water, medical supplies and functioning healthcare are lacking, markets are sparse, and food prices have skyrocketed, leaving remaining civilians in precarious conditions.
The humanitarian coordinator noted that villages around the city appear abandoned, and many civilians may still be detained or injured inside El Fasher, underscoring ongoing obstacles to delivering aid and evacuating civilians.

El Obeid in central Sudan’s Kordofan region has become a new frontline, with escalating warfare between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paralysing the city’s economy, disrupting markets, overwhelming hospitals with war casualties and disease, and cutting off vital supply routes for civilians and aid.
Civilians in El Obeid are enduring famine-like conditions, constant bombardment, and the destruction of infrastructure, forcing mass displacement within and out of the region.
In Kosti, a major transit hub for displaced Sudanese, families are arriving exhausted and with minimal possessions; many have no proper shelter and are forced to sleep under thin sheets or makeshift coverings against harsh weather, highlighting severe gaps in humanitarian protection.
Arrivals in Kosti include people fleeing conflict in Kordofan and Darfur, with thousands of displaced individuals, including women and children, overwhelming local capacity and straining limited humanitarian resources.

Bill Greenwood