ISTANBUL – The United Nations intensified its appeals on Monday for all warring factions in Sudan to ensure safe, unhindered humanitarian access to civilians and aid workers, as the brutal civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) plunges the nation deeper into one of the world's most severe humanitarian catastrophes.
The conflict, which erupted in April 2023, has now claimed an estimated 150,000 lives, displaced over 12 million people, and left more than 30 million — over half of Sudan's population — in desperate need of assistance.
UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, speaking to reporters at the organization's New York headquarters, reiterated the body's longstanding demand for unrestricted aid corridors. "We once again call on all parties to urgently guarantee safe, unhindered humanitarian access to protect civilians, including, of course, aid workers," Dujarric stated, emphasizing the moral and legal imperatives under international humanitarian law.
His comments came amid fresh reports of RSF advances in West Kordofan state, including the seizure of the strategic town of Babanusa, which has triggered new waves of displacement and obstructed relief efforts in an already besieged region.
The renewed call follows a series of high-level UN engagements aimed at brokering access amid the chaos. In November, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher held tense discussions with SAF leader General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan in Port Sudan and RSF representatives, securing tentative agreements for full access and safe passage for convoys and fleeing civilians. Yet implementation has faltered, with humanitarian organizations reporting persistent bureaucratic hurdles, visa delays for staff, and direct attacks on aid infrastructure.
Dujarric highlighted harrowing encounters by UN teams with displaced families in Darfur and Kordofan, regions at the epicenter of the violence. These families, many fleeing repeated assaults, described urgent needs for shelter, non-food essentials like blankets and cooking utensils, medical care, and sanitation facilities to combat rampant cholera and other waterborne diseases.
"People are resorting to eating animal fodder to survive, digging graves along roadsides as they flee, and facing sexual violence as a weapon of war," UN human rights experts warned in an October statement, noting that such atrocities may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Despite these grim realities, the UN and its partners have scaled up operations where possible. The World Food Programme reports delivering food rations and psychosocial support to over 13.5 million people so far in 2025, including cash assistance in hard-hit areas like Khartoum and Al Jazirah states where fighting has temporarily eased. In Gedaref State, community-led kitchens have provided meals to thousands, while UNICEF has vaccinated children against measles amid outbreaks.
However, Dujarric cautioned that funding shortfalls have left critical gaps, with the 2025 Humanitarian Response Plan — requiring $4.2 billion to aid 20.9 million people — funded at just 25–27% as of late October. This shortfall, worsened by global donor fatigue and competing crises, threatens to force agencies to ration life-saving interventions, potentially condemning millions to famine.
The roots of Sudan’s agony trace back to April 15, 2023, when simmering power struggles between SAF commander al-Burhan and RSF leader General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti) exploded into open warfare in Khartoum. What began as a clash over integration into a civilian-led government devolved into a proxy-fueled bloodbath, with the RSF — evolved from the infamous Janjaweed militias implicated in Darfur’s 2003 genocide — accused of ethnic cleansing against non-Arab groups like the Masalit.
Casualty figures remain difficult to verify due to restricted access, but estimates from conflict monitors place direct combat deaths at over 28,700 as of late 2024, with indirect deaths from hunger and disease pushing the total toward 150,000 or higher. In Khartoum State alone, nearly half of all hospitals have been damaged or destroyed.
Displacement has reached unprecedented levels, making Sudan host to the world’s largest internal displacement crisis: over 10.8 million internally displaced persons, plus more than 3.5 million refugees in neighboring countries including Chad, Egypt, South Sudan, and Ethiopia.
The fall of El Fasher — the SAF’s last stronghold in Darfur — to RSF forces in late October 2025 after an 18-month siege marked a devastating turning point, displacing hundreds of thousands and confirming famine conditions in the adjacent Zamzam displacement camp, where 635,000 people face catastrophic hunger.
Food insecurity now affects 25.6 million people, with 755,000 at immediate risk of famine in parts of Darfur and Kordofan. Children are suffering most acutely: 17 million are out of school, 4 million under five are malnourished, and grave violations against children — including recruitment as soldiers — have surged by 83%.
Women and girls continue to endure widespread sexual violence used systematically to terrorize communities, particularly in Darfur and Gezira states.
Foreign involvement has prolonged the war. The United Arab Emirates has been accused of supplying arms to the RSF, while Iran is believed to support the SAF. The United States formally determined in January 2025 that RSF actions amount to genocide.
As 2025 nears its end, the international community faces mounting pressure to act decisively. Humanitarian leaders have called for the protection of civilians, full humanitarian access, accountability for violations, an end to sieges, and urgent funding to close the $3 billion gap in the response plan.
With cholera cases exceeding 21,000 and the rainy season approaching, aid agencies warn that without immediate action, Sudan risks irreversible societal collapse and further regional destabilization.
In the words of UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan Clementine Nkweta-Salami: “The people of Sudan deserve the world’s attention and decisive action.”
