21-27 September Sudan News Summary: Humanitarian catastrophe in Kordofan and El Fasher, collapsing health system, women and children suffering

2 Oct

Arabic news roundup

By William Greenwood

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Sudan warned on Thursday of the risk of a humanitarian catastrophe in the Kordofan states, amid escalating hostilities.
"Kordofan is gradually sliding towards a humanitarian catastrophe as fighting intensifies, blockades tighten, and civilians suffer under near-siege conditions," OCHA said in a statement.
The UN agency noted that it is verifying reports of civilian casualties from airstrikes and ground attacks, with schools and health facilities increasingly targeted.
It explained that access to food, medicine, and other essential goods remains severely limited in Kadugli and Dilling, despite new waves of displaced people arriving in the two towns.
OCHA stated that fighting in South Kordofan during the rainy season has disrupted agriculture and livestock movement, causing widespread damage to livelihoods and undermining food security.
According to the UN agency, civilians in El Fasher face daily threats from airstrikes, artillery fire, and ground attacks, those fleeing the city are at risk of being targeted, while those remaining inside are vulnerable to sexual violence, forced recruitment, and arbitrary detention.
OCHA explained that El Fasher has become a focal point of suffering, with 260,000 civilians, including 130,000 children, trapped and facing the risk of death due to the lack of safe passage.

Dozens of families have fled from the rural areas around El Nahud in West Kordofan state and arrived in the city of El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state, due to the deteriorating humanitarian situation.
Since the RSF took control of El Nahud city at the beginning of May, security has collapsed in the area, forcing residents to flee to surrounding villages and towns.
The lack of essential services and the deteriorating security situation have compelled them to flee once again, this time to areas in the east and north of the country.
Several residents who arrived in El Obeid stated that they were displaced due to the high prices of goods in the markets, the difficulty of obtaining them at times, and the severe water shortage, particularly in the western and southern parts of the El Nahud area.

Fighting continues daily in Al-Fasher between the RSF on one side, and the SAF, Joint Forces, and allied militias on the other, resulting in a complete paralysis of the city and daily displacement of residents.
A resident of El Fasher stated that artillery shelling and attacks have been ongoing in the city for the past ten days. He noted that the newly established Abu Qurn market, located in the western part of the city to meet the needs of residents, was forced to close after being shelled last week.
All of the city's markets had previously ceased operations, including the main Al-Fasher market, the livestock market, and the central market. Most mosques were also closed after being targeted by shelling.
On Friday morning, the al-Safiya Mosque in the al-Daraja neighbourhood was attacked by a drone strike, resulting in the deaths of 78 people.
Several sources have accused the RSF of killing civilians and soldiers fleeing El Fasher, while RSF fighters were recently documented shooting and killing an unarmed civilian.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported in a statement that 7,500 people were displaced from the Abu Shouk camp and El Fasher to other areas from September 17-19.

By Samuel Hunt

Sudan is facing simultaneous outbreaks of cholera, dengue, malaria, and typhoid, overwhelming what remains of the health system.
Hospitals in Khartoum and Omdurman are overcrowded, with patients being treated in makeshift wards as many facilities have been destroyed or are non-functional.
Over 5,000 cases of mosquito and waterborne diseases were reported in Khartoum in the past month alone; more than 2,000 dengue cases were confirmed nationwide in a single week at the end of September.
Aid agencies say urgent international support is needed, with Sudan’s health ministry estimating $39 million required to combat multiple epidemics.

El Fasher has been under siege by the RSF now for more than 500 days, trapping over 260,000 residents (about half children), and making humanitarian access nearly impossible.
In desperation, smugglers risk torture, execution, and disappearance to bring food and medicine into the city. Some smugglers get through, but others never return with fears that they have been killed.
In one drone strike on a mosque in El Fasher, at least 75 civilians were killed during morning prayers. The attack drew condemnation and was labelled a potential war crime by the UN’s fact-finding mission.

After aid agencies and diplomats fled at the beginning of the war, Sudanese volunteers, in the tradition of ‘nafeer’, founded the Emergency Response Rooms (ERRs), which help people who have fled from areas like El Fasher.
Many of those requiring help are women and children and are being helped by thousands of volunteers across the country have provided services to about three million Sudanese.
Despite the brutality of war, stories emerge of resilience and solidarity—neighbours sharing what little they have to protect children and sustain families who are suffering.
MSF says that it treated more than 600 victims and survivors of sexual violence in the North Darfur region between April and August 2025.

Bill Greenwood