UN partners warns of escalating attacks on civilians and health facilities across Sudan

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) says drone strikes near the Sudan–Chad border caused heavy civilian casualties, killing six people and leaving four others to later die from their wounds. The attacks injured 29 people, who were taken to the Médecins Sans Frontières-supported hospital in Tiné, eastern Chad.

In a statement by the OCHA last week, they warn the attacks are pushing Sudan’s fragile health system towards collapse.

In South Kordofan, World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X on Sunday, that attacks on three health facilities between 3 and 5 February killed at least 31 people and wounded 19.

On 3 February, an assault on a primary health centre killed eight people, including five children and three women, and wounded 11. A hospital attack on 4 February killed one person, while another hospital attacked on 5 February left 22 people dead, including four health workers, and injured eight.

Displacement continues to rise, with about 750 people fleeing Delling in South Kordofan on Friday and Saturday last week, adding to the growing number of displaced from Kordofan, which now totals 115,223 people (22,965 households), according to the Displacement Tracking Matrix produced by the International Organization for Migration and published today.

While nearly four million people have returned to their homes elsewhere in Sudan, more than nine million remain internally displaced.

OCHA renewed its call for the protection of civilians and health services, increased funding, and safe, unhindered humanitarian access.

Tawila fire

At least two have been killed, including a 12-year-old child, died in a major fire at Tawila’s Hilla Naima area in North Darfur, on Monday. The blaze destroyed makeshift shelters, leaving newly displaced families without shelter or basic necessities.

The General Coordination of Camps for Displaced Persons and Refugees told Radio Dabanga that the fire wiped out three neighbourhoods and spread for about one kilometre.

The coordination stressed that a long-term camp represents a human dignity that deserves protection, pointing out that every urgent response means saving the lives of the afflicted.