Published on: 2026-08-24
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
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August 24, 2026 Peace and Security
Due to the ongoing armed conflict, the humanitarian situation in Sudan is rapidly deteriorating, and the number of casualties could reach hundreds of thousands. This was stated by the UN Deputy Secretary-General for Political Affairs and Peacebuilding, Rosemary DiCarlo, during a Security Council meeting on Monday.
“The consequences of this conflict will be felt for a very long time, and their scale is shocking,” she emphasized.
According to the Deputy Head of the UN, the civilian population of Sudan is facing one of the most severe humanitarian crises in the world. People are regularly subjected to drone attacks at markets, schools, gas stations, and water supply facilities, with such attacks being carried out by both sides of the conflict.
The burden of war
About 13 million Sudanese have been forced to leave their homes. The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights recorded around 1,400 civilian deaths from January to June this year. Approximately 1,100 of these people died as a result of drone strikes.
It is impossible to confirm the actual number of deaths due to difficulties with access. According to DiCarlo, “it is likely to be in the hundreds of thousands.” “Brutal mass killings and atrocities, abductions of women and girls, as well as mass rapes have become daily occurrences,” she warned.
Human rights defenders were able to document 838 victims of sexual violence in Sudan, but these numbers may be “just the tip of the iceberg,” DiCarlo noted.
The United Nations, according to the Deputy Secretary-General, continues to support the efforts of the United States, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates to achieve a humanitarian truce in Sudan. To advance a viable political settlement, the UN also cooperates with the African Union, the League of Arab States, the European Union, and other partners.
“Our goal is to strengthen trust in the political process and create conditions for inclusive dialogue led by the Sudanese themselves, for the sake of forming a shared vision for the country’s future,” stressed DiCarlo.
Both sides of the conflict, she said, must take specific commitments to release detainees, especially those from vulnerable groups such as women and children. “The Personal Envoy [of the UN Secretary-General] will soon visit Sudan to assist with these negotiations,” the Deputy Secretary-General said.
Humanitarian situation
“More than two-thirds of Sudan’s population are in desperate need of aid,” said Tom Fletcher, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, speaking via video link.
Hostilities in North Kordofan since mid-July have forced 15 thousand families to relocate to El-Obeid, the state capital, which has created additional pressure on displacement sites and support services that are already “at the limit of their capacity.”
Fletcher noted that the towns of Dilling and Kadugli in South Kordofan are among the UN’s key priorities. In West Kordofan, which has become the epicenter of a recent cholera outbreak, the presence of humanitarian organizations remains “extremely limited.” The escalation of violence in the Nuba Mountains of South Kordofan cuts off local communities from aid in a region already suffering from chronic food insecurity.
Fighting and drone strikes, according to Fletcher, severely restrict humanitarian access in northwestern North Darfur. Hundreds of thousands of people who fled the atrocities in El Fasher last year remain in urgent need of assistance.
“Despite these difficulties, humanitarian organizations continue to work. By mid-year, we managed to provide at least one type of assistance to nearly 11 million people,” Fletcher said.
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, according to him, is confidently progressing towards the goal of providing food assistance to 11.4 million Sudanese, but is lagging behind targets in the areas of education, healthcare, housing, and water supply.
The problem of Sudan, Fletcher emphasized, is not a lack of understanding of the situation, but a lack of action: it requires “consistent and bold” diplomacy.
“The [Security] Council is not powerless,” he emphasized. “The tragedy of Sudan is not that we don’t know what to do. The tragedy is that we have not yet found the will to do it.”
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