Two children were reportedly killed and 13 others injured in a drone strike on a mosque in Al-Rahad, North Kordofan, where the victims were students from the nearby school. This occurred just hours after a primary school in Dilling, South Kordofan was attacked, resulting in additional injuries.
WFP warehouse hit
The UN World Food Programme (WFP) warehouse in the South Kordofan capital, Kadugli, was hit by suspected rockets, causing significant damage to buildings and mobile storage units. Drone strikes have recently been reported in other parts of South Kordofan, North Kordofan, and West Kordofan states, UN Spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric told journalists in New York.
Strikes have taken place near key supply routes connecting El Obeid in North Kordofan to Dilling and Kadugli in South Kordofan, endangering civilians and humanitarian workers.
Not a target
“The fact that we have to reiterate almost every day that civilians and civilian infrastructure, places of worship, schools, and hospitals cannot and should not be targeted is a tragedy into itself,” said Dujarric. “Yet, we have to remind the parties of this almost every day and that they need to respect international humanitarian law.”
Meanwhile, the UN and partners continue their efforts to provide humanitarian assistance to the Sudanese people. The war between the national army and the former allies-turned-rivals, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which erupted in April 2023, has sparked the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with some 30 million people needing assistance.
Aid convoy breakthrough
Dujarric stated that a multi-agency UN convoy comprising 41 trucks carrying nearly 800 metric tonnes of food and other essential supplies departed El Obeid for Kadugli on Tuesday, a significant breakthrough on a previously closed route. In South Kordofan, humanitarians have delivered nearly 600 metric tonnes of food to nearly 70,000 people, but the continued arrival of families fleeing their homes is depleting the limited available stocks.
More than 115,000 people have been displaced across the Kordofan region since late October, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Diplomatic concern
The UN and four other organizations working to promote political dialogue in Sudan expressed grave concern at the conflict’s continued escalation in a statement issued on Wednesday. The Quintet – comprising the African Union (AU), East African bloc IGAD, the League of Arab States (LAS), the European Union (EU), and the UN – expressed alarm over the rapidly deteriorating situation in the Kordofan region and Blue Nile state.
The statement highlighted the urgent need for action, citing: deadly drone strikes and sieges around population centers, attacks on hospitals, schools, and humanitarian assets, widespread displacement, severe constraints on humanitarian access, and direct attacks on humanitarian aid convoys.
Protect civilians, allow aid access
The Quintet recalled the horrors that occurred in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, “and the repeated warnings issued ahead of those atrocities that went unheeded with devastating consequences for civilians.” The city was under siege by the RSF for over a year, during which crimes such as rapes, executions, mass killings, and attacks on displacement were committed.
“The Quintet insists that civilians must no longer bear the cost of ongoing hostilities,” the statement said. “Civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected, international humanitarian law must be respected, and safe, rapid, and unhindered humanitarian access to all areas in need must be ensured.”
Ramadan plea
The partners also emphasized the need for coordinated international efforts to de-escalate the conflict and halt the flow of weapons and fighters sustaining the violence. Ahead of Islam’s holy month of Ramadan, they urged all concerned “to seize the opportunity presented by ongoing efforts to broker a humanitarian truce and to immediately de-escalate hostilities, to prevent further loss of life and enable life-saving assistance.”
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