The spokesperson for UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Thursday said they are alarmed by the growing impact of drone attacks in Sudan’s North Kordofan State, which are endangering civilians and further constraining humanitarian access.
Stéphane Dujarric, who was briefing the media in New York, said that on Tuesday, multiple drone strikes were reported in some villages located south-east of the state capital El Obeid. He highlighted that the areas lie along a critical logistics corridor and the attacks risk severing the city’s eastern supply lines.
“Another strike was reported on the same day in the village of Wadi Al-Hout, about 30 kilometres north of El Obeid, underscoring the increasing frequency and geographic spread of aerial attacks across the state,” he stated.
Dujarric said that the International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates that on Wednesday, more than 2,400 people were displaced from several villages in the locality of Um Dam Haj Ahmed in North Kordofan.
“Continued insecurity is placing civilians at heightened risk and further restricting the movement of humanitarian supplies,” he reported. “We underscore that all parties must protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, and ensure rapid, safe, unhindered and sustained humanitarian access.”
Dujarric added that in the locality of Tawila in North Darfur State, UN partners report serious shortfalls in food assistance for newly arrived displaced families in Daba Naira camp, highlighting the urgent need to scale up food distributions.
“Also on food, the World Food Programme (WFP) says that despite severe access and funding constraints, it reached 3.6 million people in December, including 1.7 million in Darfur,” he said. “However, WFP warns that by the end of March, it will have exhausted its food stocks in Sudan and urgently requires $700 million to sustain life-saving operations through June.”
“We urge donors to step up support. In 2026, we and our partners are calling for $2.9 billion to reach more than 20 million people who are in urgent need of assistance,” Dujarric concluded.