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	End the War in Ukraine by UN News, agencies   8 May 2026   3000 attacks on health care in Ukraine verified by WHO since full-scale invasion   During 1534 days of war, Ukraine’s health-care system has experienced repeated attacks. The World Health Organization (WHO) has verified more than 3000 attacks on health care over this period through its Surveillance System for Attacks on Health Care, applying global verification standards and systematically monitoring, verifying and reporting incidents.   The scale and frequency of these incidents place patients and health workers at constant risk and undermine the delivery of life-saving services. Under international humanitarian law, the wounded and sick, medical personnel, health-care facilities and transport must be respected and protected. Member States must also take feasible precautions to protect civilians and civilian objects, including health-care services, and to facilitate the rapid and unimpeded passage of humanitarian relief for civilians in need, subject to applicable controls.   From primary health care centres to maternity hospitals, and from ambulance teams to pharmaceutical warehouses, every component of the system has been affected. Health-care facilities have been most impacted: around 80% of verified attacks on health care have affected outpatient clinics, hospitals and other care settings. Beyond the immediate casualties, such attacks disrupt service delivery, damage critical infrastructure and erode the health system’s capacity over time.   “Every one of these attacks is a violation of international humanitarian law, and every one represents a patient who couldn’t be reached, a health worker in danger, a community left without care,” said Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe. “This cannot be normalized. Under international humanitarian law, health care is protected. That is not a guideline or a recommendation. It is a binding obligation on all parties to any conflict. WHO will continue to document every attack on health and advocate for the protection of health workers in Ukraine.”   Health-care transport remains among the most vulnerable elements of the system in terms of human impact. Approximately 20% of recorded attacks on health care have been on ambulances and other health vehicles, with nearly 1 in 3 of these incidents resulting in casualties – making medical transport one of the highest-risk areas for injury and loss of life.   “Since the beginning of this year alone, 186 attacks on health care verified by WHO with numbers continuing to rise. Compared to the same period in 2025, the number of deaths has increased nearly fourfold, while injuries have almost doubled.   These patterns not only place health workers at heightened risk, but also further disrupt the continuity of care for those who depend on it most,” said Dr Jarno Habicht, WHO Representative in Ukraine.   “The WHO Surveillance System for Attacks on Health Care monitors and verifies the impact of attacks on health care to inform system-wide advocacy for compliance with international humanitarian law and the protection of health care, in line with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2286 (2016) and World Health Assembly Resolution 65.20 (2012), which condemn attacks on health workers and facilities and call for measures to prevent violence and ensure accountability,” added Dr Habicht.   The continued damage to health infrastructure has significantly constrained the ability of medical personnel to deliver essential care, requiring constant adaptation of humanitarian health operations.   This is unfolding amid escalating needs: according to the United Nations, 12.7 million people in Ukraine require humanitarian assistance, including 9.2 million in need of health support. Civilian casualties have increased by an estimated 31% compared with the previous year, 2025.   “According to the latest estimates, the needs for rebuilding the health-care sector over the next 10 years already amount to US$ 23.6 billion".   In close coordination with the Ministry of Health, local authorities and partners, WHO continues to adapt support to the evolving situation, helping facilities stay functional, protecting health workers where possible and reinforcing the resilience of the health system.   http://www.who.int/europe/news/item/08-05-2026-3000-attacks-on-health-care-in-ukraine-verified-by-who-since-full-scale-invasion http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/unicef-deputy-executive-director-ted-chaiban-united-nations-security-council http://news.un.org/en/story/2026/06/1167622 http://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing-notes/unhcr-appalled-attacks-aid-operations-and-rising-civilian-toll-ukraine http://news.un.org/en/story/2026/05/1167599 http://www.ungeneva.org/en/news-media/news/2026/05/118377/more-70-civilians-killed-ukraine-less-week http://ukraine.un.org/en/316191-un-wfp-warehouse-dnipro-damaged-strike http://www.icrc.org/en/article/health-care-under-fire-ten-years-after-resolution-2286   10 Mar. 2026   More deadly strikes kill civilians. (OCHA)   OCHA reports that large-scale missile and drone attacks and front-line hostilities between the early hours of last Thursday and yesterday affected multiple regions across Ukraine.   Authorities reported nearly 30 civilians killed and about 170 injured, including children.   Kharkiv City was among the hardest hit, where strikes damaged apartment blocks, a school and other civilian site, killing 10 people, including two children, and injuring 26. Elsewhere in the Kharkiv Region, three more civilians were killed and 14 injured. In the Donetsk Region, authorities reported three civilians killed and 20 injured in Ukraine-controlled areas, most in Kramatorsk, including three children.   Attacks damaged ambulances, fire trucks, homes and energy and railway infrastructure in several regions. The Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine, Matthias Schmale, reiterated that civilians and civilian infrastructure must be protected under international humanitarian law.   http://www.unocha.org/news/security-council-un-relief-chief-warns-civilian-casualties-ukraine-amid-waves-drone-strikes http://news.un.org/en/story/2026/04/1167313 http://news.un.org/en/story/2026/03/1167201 http://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2026/03/deputy-high-commissioner-human-rights-al-nashif-updates-council http://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/statement-security-council-humanitarian-situation-ukraine-joyce-msuya-asg-humanitarian-affairs-and-deputy-erc-behalf-tom-fletcher-usg-humanitarian-affairs-and-erc   * Drones are being increasingly used as weapons of war in a number of ongoing conflicts. (IPS News)   UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said last week he was “appalled by the devastating impact on civilians of increasing drone attacks”, amid reports that more than 200 civilians have been killed by drones since 4 March alone in the Kordofan region, and in White Nile state in Sudan.   “It is deeply troubling that despite multiple reminders, warnings and appeals, parties to the conflict in Sudan continue to use increasingly powerful drones to deploy explosive weapons with wide-area impacts in populated areas,” said Turk. “I renew my call on them to abide fully with international humanitarian law in their use of these weapons, particularly the clear prohibition on directing attacks against civilians and civilian objects and infrastructure, and against any form of indiscriminate attacks.”   http://www.ipsnews.net/2026/03/a-remotely-piloted-weapon-that-targets-civilians-in-war-zones/   24 Feb. 2026 (UN News)   The international community must “use every diplomatic tool” to bring an end to the war in Ukraine, a senior UN official told the UN Security Council as Russia’s full-scale invasion entered a fifth year.   Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, delivered remarks on behalf of the UN Secretary-General:   "Four years after the Russian Federation launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the war remains a stain on our collective conscience. Day after day – year after year – we have witnessed the cascading consequences of this blatant violation of international law, including the UN Charter.   Shattered lives. Devastated communities. And deepened regional and global instability. The human toll is catastrophic. Last year was the deadliest for Ukrainian civilians since 2022. More than 15,000 civilians have been killed in Ukraine since the start of the invasion, and more than 41,000 injured. Millions have been forced to flee from their homes. Millions more require life-saving assistance.   Human rights violations are rampant. The plight of Ukrainian children is particularly dire. More than 3,200 children have been killed or injured. More than one-third of Ukrainian children remain displaced and an estimated 2.2 million require humanitarian assistance. A whole generation has lost years of education as schools have come under fire.   This winter, the Russian Federation intensified strikes against Ukraine’s civilian energy infrastructure. Large-scale attacks have killed and injured scores of civilians, and deprived millions of electricity, heating, and water for prolonged periods – including in the capital, Kyiv. In sub-zero temperatures, strikes on electricity, heating and water systems turn access to basic services into a matter of life and death.   Civilians in the Russian Federation are also increasingly affected by reported Ukrainian strikes.   International humanitarian law is unequivocal: attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure are strictly prohibited. I condemn all such attacks, no matter where they occur. I urge both sides to implement an immediate moratorium on all such attacks.   The ongoing fighting also poses direct risks to the safe and secure operations of Ukraine’s nuclear sites. This unconscionable game of nuclear roulette must cease immediately.   Even as the fighting rages, the UN is working with Ukraine agencies to repair damaged infrastructure, keep people warm, and sustain critical services. Despite limited access and the deteriorating security situation, we are also working with local partners to deliver food, water, medical supplies and other humanitarian aid, including to those in front-line communities. I urge Member States to fully fund the humanitarian response.   Throughout the war, the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights has reported widespread human rights violations – torture, sexual violence, and even executions of prisoners of war and civilian detainees. These acts have gone with virtually no accountability. I urge that all prisoners of war and detainees be treated humanely and released in accordance with international humanitarian law and international human rights law.   Any Ukrainian children deported or forcibly transferred to the Russian Federation and occupied areas of Ukraine must be returned home to their families without delay. I urge the sides to continue to work constructively to address these concerns as a matter of priority.   A year ago, this Council adopted resolution 2774 imploring “a swift end to the conflict” and urging “a lasting peace between Ukraine and the Russian Federation.   We need concrete measures to de-escalate the fighting without delay and to create the space for diplomacy. The longer this war continues, the greater the suffering – and the greater the risks for regional and international peace and security. As complex as the path may be, our collective obligation is clear: use every diplomatic tool to end this war.   The parameters of peace in Ukraine are not a mystery. It must be in accordance with international law, including the UN Charter and relevant UN resolutions. And it must uphold the sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity of Ukraine, within its internationally recognized borders.   Enough with the death. Enough with the destruction. Enough with the broken lives and shattered futures. It is time for an immediate, full and unconditional ceasefire – the first step toward a just peace that saves lives and ends the endless suffering".   Feb. 2026   ‘Nothing Compares to Human Lives Lost’ – Reflections on Ukraine War. (IPS News)   “We have a saying here in Ukraine now – ‘young people meet at their friends’ funerals rather than at weddings.’ It’s sad, but very true.”   As Russia’s full-scale invasion of her country moves into its fifth year, Iryna Yakova, 29, is looking back at how her life has changed over the past four years.   Speaking from Lviv, the western Ukrainian city where she lives, she tells IPS that her “values and attitude towards life” have changed. “Material things become unimportant when your loved ones or friends are in danger,” she says. She has also developed a keen sense of her national identity and an empathy for the suffering of her fellow Ukrainians.   “During the full-scale invasion, I realised that all of Ukraine is my home. I cry for people who were killed by a missile in Kyiv while they were sleeping at night. Even though I didn’t know them, it hurts me because they are Ukrainians. It also pains me to see children growing up without their parents because their parents are at the front. The war has intensified my sense of empathy and belonging.”   “What I miss most [from my life before the full-scale invasion] are the people who have been killed in the war. I have lost friends, acquaintances, and relatives. Nothing compares to human loss. The hardest thing I have had to deal with during this war is going to the funerals of friends — people you used to go to parties with, travel with, study with,” she says.   The human cost of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has been enormous – Ukraine’s government does not officially give figures for military casualties, but it has been estimated they could be up to 600,000 (Russian military casualties are thought to be more than twice that amount).   But the scale of civilian casualties has been huge, too. According to UN bodies, more than 15,000 civilians have been killed and over 41,000 injured in Ukraine since the start of the invasion on February 24, 2022.   Worryingly, as Ukraine marks the fourth anniversary of the start of the war, research suggests there has been a sharp increase in civilian casualties over the last year.   Data from Action on Armed Violence (AOAV), released earlier this month, showed civilian casualties in Ukraine increased by 26 percent in 2025 compared with 2024.   The group said its data showed a worrying shift in the character of the conflict – the average number of civilians killed or injured per incident in Ukraine rose 33 percent over the year, with a total of 2,248 civilians reported killed (an 11 percent rise) and 12,493 injured (a 28 percent rise) by explosive violence.   This suggests that explosive weapons are being used by Russia in Ukraine in ways that generate greater civilian impact, whether through more drone strikes, heavier munitions, specific targeting choices of populated areas, or repeated strikes on urban infrastructure, the group said.   Nearly seven in ten civilian casualties recorded in AOAV data occurred in residential neighbourhoods, up from just over four in ten in 2024.   Niamh Gillen, a researcher at AOAV, told the IPS news agency it was impossible to definitively say that Russian forces were deliberately targeting Ukrainian civilians, but that “the data speaks for itself.”   “It shows that civilian areas are being attacked, that the attacks are occurring within civilian areas like hospitals, schools, cities, towns. In general, in areas where civilians are heavily concentrated, like cities and towns, villages, anywhere like that, if you’re using an explosive weapon with wide area impacts, then you’re likely to harm more civilians,” she said.   On top of the deaths and destruction Russian attacks have caused, they have also led to massive displacement. It is thought that at least 3.4 million people are internally displaced in the country. This has put massive pressure not just on the displaced themselves, but also on host communities and services.   People’s physical health has deteriorated in such conditions – the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said that more than two-thirds of the population have reported a worsening of their health since the start of the invasion.   The situation for many Ukrainians has acutely worsened this winter. In what has been one of the coldest winters the country has seen for many years, Russian forces have repeatedly attacked Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, resulting in massive, widespread power outages. Thermal heating facilities have also been destroyed in targeted attacks.   As temperatures have plunged to as low as minus 30 degrees Celsius on some occasions, millions of people have been left freezing in their homes.   Jamie Wah, Deputy Head of Delegation with the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) in Ukraine, said people were suffering desperately in the cold. “Some nights have been unbearable. There is no escape from the cold” she told IPS.   Humanitarian organisations, including the Ukrainian Red Cross, and state emergency services have set up emergency heating points in cities and towns where people can keep warm, recharge devices and get food. But Wah said while this has become a humanitarian crisis, it is one of just many crises Ukrainians are battling.   Amid these problems, many Ukrainians admit that they are exhausted after four years of war. But among the many people IPS spoke to on the eve of the fourth anniversary of the war, there was a widespread determination to not give up.   For many, such resilience is born out of a desire not just for them and their country to survive what they see as Russia’s attempt to destroy them as an independent state and nation, but also a hope that, ultimately, there will be a future without war.   * Reconstruction and recovery in Ukraine when the war ends is estimated to cost $588 billion over the next decade, according the World Bank, with housing, transport, energy and agriculture among the sectors worst hit.   http://www.un.org/sg/en/content/sg/statements/2026-02-24/secretary-generals-remarks-the-security-council-ukraine-delivered http://www.ifrc.org/press-release/conflict-enters-fifth-year-humanitarian-needs-ukraine-intensify-amid-deepening-energy http://www.icrc.org/en/news-release/icrc-director-general-millions-ukraine-face-intolerable-suffering http://www.unhcr.org/news/press-releases/after-four-years-destruction-and-coldest-winter-yet-unhcr-s-salih-urges-support http://data.unhcr.org/en/documents/details/121256 http://www.nrc.no/news/2026/ukraine-four-years-of-war-leaves-displaced-on-the-brink http://www.caritas.org/ukraine/emergency/four-years-of-war-in-ukraine-4-million-people-have-no-home/   http://www.who.int/news/item/23-02-2026-attacks-on-ukraine-s-health-care-increased-by-20-in-2025 http://reliefweb.int/report/ukraine/ukraine-normalization-civilian-harm-unacceptable http://www.ipsnews.net/2026/02/ukrainian-war-anniversary-nothing-compares-to-human-lives-lost/ http://aoav.org.uk/2026/ukraines-war-grows-deadlier-for-civilians-harm-per-strike-up-33-despite-global-decline-in-explosive-violence/ http://www.nrc.no/news/2026/ukraine-families-in-the-firing-line http://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2026/02/ukraine-russia-four-years-full-scale-invasion/ http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/more-third-ukraines-children-remain-displaced-four-years-war-unicef http://www.savethechildren.net/news/ukraine-children-anxious-fearful-after-4000-hours-air-raid-alarms-four-years-war http://news.un.org/en/story/2026/02/1167016 http://news.un.org/en/focus/ukraine Visit the related web page
	Sudan: conflict, mass displacement and denials of aid push the country deeper towards famine by UN News, IPC, ICC, UNICEF, WFP, agencies   14 April 2026   Three years of war: Sudan's people abandoned and hungry. (World Food Programme)   On the eve of three years of devastating war, the Sudanese people are still being left to cope with intense fighting and widespread suffering. Conflict is killing and injuring countless civilians, and leaving millions without access to food, shelter or sanitation, the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) warned today.   The international community has failed to prevent and end this conflict and to protect the Sudanese people from atrocities,” said Carl Skau, WFP’s Deputy Executive Director, who just returned from Darfur.   “The people I met in camps have been through hell. They have fled their homes leaving everything behind and now live in appalling conditions. They deserve so much better. We need to make sure they are not let down again and provide the basic support they need.”   More than 19 million people still face acute hunger in Sudan, and famine continues to haunt parts of the country as violence, displacement and economic collapse grind on. Communities have been cut off from food, markets, and aid, and children have been forced to miss three years of education, with their future hanging in the balance. Sudan remains the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with almost two‑thirds of the population now in urgent need of assistance to survive.   Sudan’s hunger crisis now risks being compounded by the escalation of the conflict in the Middle East. Disruptions in the Red Sea are delaying critical imports, driving up the cost of food, fuel and fertilizer. Fuel prices in Sudan have increased by over 24 percent, driving up food prices and leaving millions unable to afford the most basic staples.   These same disruptions are also directly impacting humanitarian operations, with delayed shipments and higher transport costs. The combined impact could push families across the country deeper into food insecurity.   “The women I spoke to across Sudan told me they don’t have enough to feed their children and have no access to the most basic services,” warned Skau. “WFP and the humanitarian community have the experience and capacity to step up our support. But to do so, we need humanitarian aid to be allowed to move freely, safely and at scale – and we need far more funding.”   WFP is hyper‑prioritizing famine zones and hard‑to‑reach areas, reaching 3.5 million people each month with emergency food, cash and nutrition assistance. Two‑thirds of those WFP assists are in Darfur and Kordofan, where famine is confirmed and where fighting is heaviest. More than two million children under five and more than 500,000 pregnant and breastfeeding women and girls benefited from nutrition assistance last year.   WFP is also sustaining livelihoods and local food systems: During the last harvest season, WFP-supported farmers produced nearly one fifth of the country’s wheat, strengthening the local economy and reducing food insecurity.   “We need to continue investing in the future of the Sudanese people,” said Skau. “We can help communities rebuild their lives by expanding our support for farmers to grow their own food again and by providing school meals to help enable children to return to school. But we need the funding to do it.”   WFP food assistance has dropped by 14 percent since January, as compared to last year, due to a lack of resources; the agency urgently requires more than USD 600 million to sustain life-saving operations in Sudan for the next six months.   Sudan: A crisis the world cannot ignore, by Denise Brown, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan:   Sudan is the size of France, Germany, Italy, and Spain combined. It’s hard to miss. But the world seems to be able to look right past it as if it’s not there.   April 15th marks the third year of the war in Sudan; more than 9 million people have had to flee their homes within the country, living in temporary shelters, some so ragged they blow away with the haboob (dust storm) that arrives every year at this time.   Another 4.5 million have fled across borders into neighbouring countries, seeking one thing: to live without fear. More than 18 million people remaining in the country need support to make it through the day: food, healthcare, shelter, water. Pretty basic stuff that we all need to get by.   Sexual violence has its own special place within this brutal war. Women and girls, raped and gang-raped, particularly in Darfur. Sexual violence is being used as a weapon of war, with long-term consequences for individuals and communities.   Drone strikes are increasing, hitting civilian infrastructure, many related to the health services that are so desperately needed, and killing the civilians who use them. In El Obeid, North Kordofan State, the strikes go on all night long, one explosion after another.   Yet the people who fled the war in Khartoum three years ago are returning despite the remaining challenges.   "Homes can be taken from us, but what we hold in our memories and our hearts about home cannot be taken. And so, people return despite the remaining challenges. Home is where we all want to be".   The international aid community is here, but the Sudanese communities and organizations are the day-to-day frontline workers and the ones killed in the line of duty. Helping those who have had to flee their homes or those who want to go back.   "So far in 2026, the humanitarian response is only 16 per cent funded. That money just won’t stretch to cover the needs. People are dying here and suffering here and yet are determined to make it. They desperately need our support".   http://www.wfp.org/news/three-years-war-sudans-people-abandoned-and-hungry http://www.wfp.org/news/wfp-palais-briefing-sudan-three-years-war-sudan-three-years-too-many http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/reality-children-sudan-growing-darker-hour-hour%C2%A0 http://www.unocha.org/news/un-relief-chief-three-years-sudan-remains-test-world-failing http://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing-notes/three-years-war-weary-sudanese-remain-move http://www.unocha.org/news/sudan-three-years-crisis-world-cannot-ignore http://news.un.org/en/story/2026/04/1167301   http://www.nrc.no/news/2026/what-it-takes-to-eat-new-report-reveals-how-war-is-cutting-off-access-to-food-as-hunger-deepens-in-sudan http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/latest/three-years-war-have-shattered-sudans-lifelines http://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/three-years-agony-sudans-children-trapped-and-carry-deepest-scars http://www.hrw.org/news/2026/04/07/sudan-the-eu-must-act-for-sudans-civilians-at-three-years-of-conflict http://www.globalr2p.org/publications/ngo-statement-on-the-international-coalition-to-prevent-further-atrocities-in-sudan/ http://www.hrw.org/news/2026/03/11/new-sudan-atrocity-prevention-coalition-needs-to-act-fast http://www.globalr2p.org/publications/atrocity-alert-no-471/ http://unocha.exposure.co/darfurs-survivors http://humanitarianaction.info/plan/1514 http://news.un.org/en/story/2026/04/1167293 http://news.un.org/en/tags/sudan   24 Mar. 2026   The Sudan INGO Forum is appalled by the latest drone attack on Ed Dain Teaching Hospital in East Darfur, which killed at least 64 people, including 13 children, two female nurses, one male doctor and multiple patients, and injured nearly 90 others.   This attack rendered the hospital completely non-functional, destroying essential departments including the emergency room, pediatric ward, surgery service and a stabilisation centre that was treating children with acute malnutrition and related medical complications. It was the only functioning public medical facility in Ed Dain and its destruction is cutting off lifesaving services for hundreds of thousands of civilians.   This is yet another grave violation of international humanitarian law, within a series of deadly escalations of drone attacks in recent weeks and months. Health facilities and health workers must never be targeted.   Sudan’s health system is already under extraordinary pressure. After nearly three years of war, up to 80% of health facilities in conflict-affected states have shut down, while those still operational face severe shortages of staff, medicine and essential supplies. Repeated attacks on healthcare facilities, over 200 attacks were verified by WHO between April 2023 and December 2025, have killed close to 2,000 people and injured hundreds more, the vast majority of them within the last year only.   At the same time, humanitarian funding is rapidly shrinking. According to interagency analysis, the imminent closure of legacy US-funded programs will result in the shutdown of at least 344 health facilities across 13 states, affecting an estimated 876,247 people every month. In East Darfur specifically, this loss of funding is expected to lead to the suspension of mobile clinics, primary healthcare services, and referral systems that communities depend on.   The destruction of a central facility such as Ed Dain Teaching Hospital, combined with the withdrawal of humanitarian health programming, risks creating a near-total collapse of healthcare access in the region.   The Sudan INGO Forum reiterates its urgent call on all parties to the conflict to:   Fulfil their obligations under international humanitarian law and immediately cease attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and health facilities. Respect and protect medical personnel, facilities, and transport at all times. Adopt and enforce a clear no-strike policy on critical civilian infrastructure. Ensure safe, rapid, and unhindered humanitarian access to all populations in need.   We further call on the international community to:   Strongly condemn this attack and all violations of international humanitarian law. Take urgent diplomatic action to ensure the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure in Sudan. Immediately increase and frontload humanitarian funding to mitigate the severe gaps created by program closures and sustain life-saving services, particularly in conflict-affected states.   The continued targeting of healthcare facilities, combined with the erosion of humanitarian service capacity, represents a devastating convergence that will cost countless lives unless immediate action is taken.   * The Sudan INGO Forum is the coordination and representation body for the international non-governmental organization (INGO) community in Sudan.   http://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/sudan-drone-strike-ed-dain-teaching-hospital-represents-grave-escalation-attacks-healthcare-amid-increased-strain-health-system http://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/sudan-deadly-escalation-drone-strikes-civilian-areas-must-end http://www.nrc.no/news/2026/sudan-war-refugees-pushed-into-hunger-as-livelihoods-collapse-across-the-region   10 Mar. 2026   Satellite images show Rapid Support Forces using ‘starvation strategy’ in Sudan. (Yale Humanitarian Research Lab, agencies)   Targeted attacks on farming communities by the Rapid Support Forces were intended to prevent villages producing food.   There is strong evidence that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) committed a war crime by depriving the villagers of north Darfur of the means to produce food, legal experts argue in a new analysis published today calling for the Humanitarian Research Lab’s (HRL) revelations to be used in international courts.   The destruction of the villages, farming equipment and infrastructure all provide strong evidence of a “starvation strategy” against a population already struggling with food insecurity because of the war, says Tom Dannenbaum, a professor at Stanford Law School and a leading expert on the use of starvation in war.   “People were at the brink of starvation and objects indispensable to their survival were being destroyed,” says Dannenbaum, who co-authored the analysis alongside Yale Law School professor Oona Hathaway.   He says it was not merely the fact the villages had been attacked but the targeted destruction of livestock enclosures, as well as the forced displacement of the farmers, that led to reduced farming activity that suggested a deliberate attempt to prevent the villages from being able to produce food.   Dannenbaum and Hathaway believe the HRL research is a breakthrough in attempts to prove how a starvation strategy was imposed because of the way it uses remote sensing technologies. They also think there is potential for the same techniques to be used to investigate war crimes in places such as Gaza and Ethiopia.   “It’s evidence of extraordinary cruelty and the real horrors people have been facing,” says Hathaway. “The report provides a unique level of fine-grained, over-time analysis documenting exactly what was attacked, going far beyond our general knowledge of the fighting … [it] is of a quality that could be submitted in a court for criminal prosecution.”   The international criminal court has been investigating genocide in Darfur since the 2000s, and has issued calls for evidence related to recent violence including the takeover of El Geneina in West Darfur in June 2023, when RSF fighters imposed a months-long siege that killed tens of thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more people from the Masalit community.   The UN human rights council has also been documenting rights violations throughout the war and last month published a report saying the RSF’s attack on El Fasher last year bore the “hallmarks of genocide”, including a siege that imposed conditions designed to destroy non-Arab communities including the Zaghawa and Fur.   There have also been investigations into the “genocidal attack” on Zamzam in April 2025, which at the time was Sudan’s largest displacement camp, hosting about 700,000 people just south of El Fasher.   HRL’s researchers used sensors that can remotely detect the presence of fires, together with satellite imagery to monitor the locations of the attacks on these 41 villages, where it found there was a 2040% increase in fires during the period studied.   A quarter of the villages were attacked more than once, and after being attacked 68% of them show no signs of normal life. The researchers found that vehicles consistent with those used by the RSF could be identified near the scenes of the violence.   The attacks on villages began just months before the siege of El Fasher. HRL researchers believe this was part of a plan to cut the city off from the areas that fed it.   “They ripped out the breadbasket of El-Fasher as an intentional strategy to starve the city,” says Nathaniel Raymond, HRL’s executive director.   During the subsequent 18-month siege of El Fasher the RSF prevented food, water and medicine from entering the city, and constructed an earthen berm at least 19 miles long to physically prevent civilians from leaving.   Throughout the war the RSF have imposed long sieges on cities with large non-Arab communities such as El Geneina and El Fasher, before militarily taking them over.   The RSF now controls all of Darfur’s main cities but its use of siege tactics has continued in its fighting against the Sudanese army elsewhere, which has most recently been focused on the neighbouring Kordofan region.   Like Darfur, Kordofan is resource-rich with supplies of gold, oil and gum arabic, a key ingredient in cosmetics and soft drinks – Sudan provides 80% of the world’s supply. It is also the location of Kadugli, a city which alongside El Fasher, has been declared as suffering famine and where the price of staple foods such as sorghum are 1,000% higher than before the war.   In February, the Sudanese army announced that it had broken a siege on Kadugli that prevented aid trucks from arriving, but violence has continued and concerns remain that the RSF will try to reimpose siege conditions. On 20 February, a convoy of aid trucks that had waited weeks to reach the city was hit by a drone strike, killing four people.   Hunger is also growing in eastern Sudan’s Blue Nile state where farmers have not been able to access their land because of RSF attacks, leaving crops unharvested according to campaign group Avaaz, which reported that the price of flour rose 43% in January.   Raymond says that HRL’s work is evidence that the RSF is using hunger as a means of war and that unless they are investigated and held accountable, there is a threat of the same fate facing other communities.   “This report is quantitative proof of RSF’s intent, which is to prevent those they perceive as enemies from being able to feed themselves,” says Raymond. “What this means for Sudan is clear: what happened here can happen again.”   http://www.justsecurity.org/131508/report-new-evidence-starvation-darfur/ http://medicine.yale.edu/lab/khoshnood/news/ http://www.theguardian.com/global-development/ng-interactive/2026/mar/10/extraordinary-cruelty-images-show-longterm-starvation-strategy-in-sudan   Feb. 2026   Child malnutrition hits catastrophic levels in parts of Sudan. (UN News, IPC)   Acute malnutrition among children has reached catastrophic levels in parts of Sudan’s North Darfur and Greater Kordofan, UN-backed analysts warned on Thursday, as conflict, mass displacement and denials of aid push the country deeper into a famine-risk emergency.   According to an alert from the IPC, a global food security monitoring system, thresholds for acute malnutrition were surpassed in two new areas of North Darfur – Um Baru and Kernoi – following the fall of the regional capital, El Fasher, in October 2025 and a massive exodus.   December assessments found acute malnutrition levels among children of 52.9 per cent in Um Baru – nearly twice the famine threshold – and about 34 per cent in Kernoi. The IPC warned that conditions are deteriorating rapidly – and action is urgently needed.   “These alarming rates suggest an increased risk of excess mortality,” the experts said, adding that many other conflict-affected or inaccessible areas may be facing similarly catastrophic conditions.   Um Baru and Kernoi are in areas of northwestern North Darfur, near key displacement corridors leading toward the Chadian border. Both areas received large numbers of civilians fleeing fighting in and around El Fasher, where widespread atrocities occured.   Sudan’s war, which erupted in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), has devastated food systems nationwide, triggering mass displacement and repeated disruptions to health, water and nutrition services.   The IPC alert draws urgent attention to the worsening conditions. It builds on earlier IPC analyses that confirmed famine (IPC Phase 5) in El Fasher, North Darfur in 2024, and Kadugli, South Kordofan, in September 2025 – and projected famine risk in at least 20 other areas across greater Darfur and greater Kordofan.   The new findings indicate that famine-like conditions are likely spreading beyond previously assessed locations, driven by continued fighting, displacement and the collapse of food, health and water systems, IPC analysts said.   Across the country, over 4.2 million cases of acute malnutrition are expected in 2026, including more than 800,000 cases of severe acute malnutrition, representing a sharp increase from 2025 levels, according to IPC analysis.   The IPC also warned of rapidly deteriorating conditions across Greater Kordofan, where famine was already confirmed in Kadugli and severe conditions were projected in Dilling and the Western Nuba Mountains. Without an immediate end to the fighting and large-scale humanitarian access, IPC experts said preventable deaths are likely to rise.   http://www.ipcinfo.org/ipcinfo-website/countries-in-focus-archive/issue-143/en/ http://news.un.org/en/story/2026/02/1166931 http://news.un.org/en/tags/sudan http://www.unicef.org/sudan/stories/generational-crisis-looms-sudan http://www.savethechildren.net/news/children-dying-because-hunger-famine-risks-detected-two-new-locations-sudan http://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/sudan-key-message-update-risk-famine-ipc-phase-5-persists-south-kordofan-and-north-darfur-march-september-2026   Feb. 2026   Sudan: Countdown to catastrophe in Kordofan, as world once again looks away. (NRC)   South Kordofan is now the epicentre of the war in Sudan, which has caused the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. Civilians in this part of southern Sudan face intensified fighting and near-total blockage of humanitarian supplies, after a year of starvation and bombardment, the Secretary General of the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) Jan Egeland warned today.   At the end of his visit to South Kordofan, Egeland said he saw that the world was once again failing civilians in Sudan, with the clock ticking on further widespread atrocities.   “South Kordofan has become Sudan’s most dangerous and neglected frontline,” said Egeland. “After the horrors in El Fasher, Darfur, we cannot allow another civilian catastrophe to unfold on our watch. Entire cities are being starved, forcing families to flee with nothing. Civilians here have told me they are bombed and attacked where they live, pray, and learn. This is a man-made disaster, and it is accelerating towards a nightmare scenario.”   In Kadugli and Dilling, the main towns in South Kordofan, essential supply routes have been cut, leading markets to completely collapse. Trapped civilians are left with little or no access to food, cash, or basic services. Famine is taking hold in Kadugli, with Dilling at high risk of the same.   Thousands of people are now fleeing Kordofan in desperate journeys, having to navigate across frontlines, heading toward the Nuba Mountains – a region long isolated and impoverished, and now facing renewed violence. Others are fleeing to White Nile, Gedaref, and South Sudan. Journeys take days or weeks and are marked by hunger, theft, intimidation, and abuse.   Upon reaching the relative safety of displacement camps, families sleep on the bare ground or in overcrowded shelters. Aid groups like NRC are few, over-stretched, and under-funded. Essential items are critically scarce. Children are traumatised, malnourished, and out of school.   Egeland warned that the humanitarian response is nowhere near the scale required, as international agencies remain largely absent and access constraints continue to block aid delivery.   “With most international organisations’ operations scaled back, Sudanese local responders are holding the line under extreme pressure,” said Egeland. “They are running communal kitchens, evacuating families, and delivering aid under fire. They are doing everything possible, but we must do more to help them.”   “This is a critical moment,” said Egeland. “We know exactly where this leads if the world looks away again. History will judge us if we abandon the civilians of Sudan again to face endless violence and deprivation.”   NRC is appealing to the parties to the conflict for immediate humanitarian access and protection of civilians. It is calling for urgent funding for life-saving aid, and effective international engagement to prevent further suffering.   http://www.nrc.no/news/2026/sudan-countdown-to-catastrophe-in-kordofan-as-world-once-again-looks-away http://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2026/02/high-commissioner-turk-calls-states-do-more-end-senseless-war-sudan http://www.msf.org/sudan-msf-treats-around-170-people-drone-injuries-two-weeks http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/12/un-human-rights-chief-warns-against-atrocities-sudans-kordofan-region http://reliefweb.int/report/sudan/statement-operational-humanitarian-country-team-sudan-violence-kordofan-region   19 Jan. 2026   Atrocities in Sudan’s Darfur region are spreading from town to town in an organized campaign of violence that includes mass executions, rape and ethnic targeting, amounting to war crimes and crimes against humanity, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court told the UN Security Council on Monday.   Briefing ambassadors, ICC Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan said the situation in Darfur had “darkened even further,” with civilians subjected to what she described as collective torture amid a widening war between Sudan’s rival military forces.   “The picture that is emerging is appalling: organised, widespread, mass criminality including mass executions,” Ms. Khan said. “Atrocities are used as a tool to assert control.”   Sudan has been engulfed in conflict since April 2023, when fighting erupted between former allies the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces militia (RSF).   What began as a power struggle metastasised into conflicts across the country, most devastating in the Darfur region, which also saw longstanding ethnic tensions – which prompted allegations of genocide in the early 2000s – being reignited.   She said the fall of North Darfur’s regional capital El Fasher to the RSF had been followed by a “calculated campaign of the most profound suffering,” particularly targeting non-Arab communities.   The crimes, she said, include rape, arbitrary detention, executions and the creation of mass graves, often filmed and celebrated by perpetrators.   Based on video, audio and satellite evidence collected, the ICC Prosecutor has concluded that war crimes and crimes against humanity were committed in El Fasher, particularly in late October, following a prolonged RSF siege of the city.   Ms. Khan said video footage showed patterns similar to those documented in earlier atrocities in Darfur, including the detention, mistreatment and killing of civilians from non-Arab tribes.   “Members of the RSF are seen celebrating direct executions and subsequently desecrating corpses,” she said.   The Office of the Prosecutor is also advancing investigations into crimes committed in El Geneina, where witnesses have provided accounts of attacks on displacement camps, looting, gender-based violence and crimes against children.   In 2023, El Geneina witnessed some of the worst violence of the war as RSF fighters and allied militias carried out massacres against the Massalit community, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee into neighbouring Chad.   UN officials and human rights investigators described the violence as ethnically motivated and warned of possible crimes against humanity.   Evidence now indicates that the patterns of atrocities seen in El Geneina have since been replicated in El Fasher, Ms. Khan said.   “This criminality is being repeated in town after town in Darfur,” she warned. “It will continue until this conflict, and the sense of impunity that fuels it, are stopped.”   Sexual violence, including rape, is being used as a weapon of war, Ms. Khan said, adding that gender-based crimes remain a priority for ICC investigations. She acknowledged cultural and security barriers that prevent survivors from reporting abuse, stressing the need for gender-sensitive and survivor-centred investigations.   While much of the briefing focused on RSF abuses, the Deputy Prosecutor said the ICC was also documenting allegations of crimes committed by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), underscoring that all parties to the conflict are bound by international law to protect civilians.   http://www.icc-cpi.int/news/statement-icc-office-prosecutor-situation-el-fasher-north-darfur http://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c75veyzz2g2o http://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/24/opinion/sudan-genocide.html http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2026/02/sudan-evidence-el-fasher-reveals-genocidal-campaign-targeting-non-arab http://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2026/02/high-commissioner-turk-calls-states-do-more-end-senseless-war-sudan http://news.un.org/en/story/2026/02/1167003 http://www.unocha.org/news/ocha-urges-security-council-protect-civilians-and-aid-workers-sudan http://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2025/12/sudan-must-address-ethnic-violence-and-prevent-further-escalation-un http://www.ohchr.org/en/meeting-summaries/2025/11/human-rights-council-calls-urgent-inquiry-recent-alleged-violations http://www.hrw.org/news/2026/01/26/iccs-work-vital-for-justice-in-darfur   Jan. 2026   1,000 days of war has devastating impact on the children of Sudan. (UNICEF)   “Since fighting erupted in April 2023, Sudan has become one of the largest and most devastating humanitarian crises in the world, pushing millions of children to the brink of survival.   A profound protection crisis with widespread violations of international law by parties to the conflict, exacerbated by a lack of humanitarian access, has deepened with each of the 1,000 days of agony that have passed.   "In 2026, 33.7 million people, about two-thirds of the population, are expected to need urgent humanitarian assistance. Half of them are children. Affected populations’ access to lifesaving aid remains dangerously constrained across large parts of the country, intensifying the humanitarian crisis.   “Children continue to be killed and injured – just this week, 8 children were killed in an attack in Al Obeid in North Kordofan.   “More than 5 million children have been forced from their homes – the equivalent of 5,000 children displaced every day - many of them repeatedly, with attacks and violence often following them as they move. Millions of children in Sudan are at risk of rape and other forms of sexual violence, which is being used as a tactic of war, with children as young as one reported among survivors.   "An estimated 21 million people are expected to face acute food insecurity in 2026. Famine has already been confirmed in Al Fasher and Kadugli, with an additional 20 areas across Greater Darfur and Greater Kordofan at risk.   In North Darfur, the epicentre of Sudan’s malnutrition emergency, nearly 85,000 children with severe acute malnutrition were treated between January and November 2025, equivalent to one child every six minutes.   The collapse of health systems, critical water shortages and the breakdown of basic services are compounding the crisis, fuelling deadly disease outbreaks and placing an estimated 3.4 million children under five at risk.   “Behind these numbers are lives marked by fear, hunger and loss, as the conflict continues to rob children of safety, health and hope.   “Despite these extraordinary insecurity and access constraints, life-saving assistance continues to reach children wherever possible.   UNICEF and partners are delivering support to treat severe malnutrition, vaccinate against deadly diseases, provide safe drinking water, and offer protection and care to children affected by violence and displacement as funding permits.   “These efforts are keeping children alive under the most difficult conditions, but they remain far from sufficient in the absence of sustained access, adequate funding and a meaningful reduction in hostilities. Humanitarian action can save lives, but it cannot replace the protection that only peace can provide.   “UNICEF is urgently calling for an immediate end to the conflict. All parties must uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law: protect civilians, stop attacks on infrastructure, and allow safe, sustained and unimpeded humanitarian access across Sudan.   “Children in Sudan are not statistics. They are frightened, displaced and hungry, but they are also determined, resourceful and resilient. Every day, they strive to learn, to play, to hope, even as they wait for the world to act. Ending this conflict is a moral necessity. It cannot wait.”   http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/children-sudan-have-endured-1000-days-agony http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/nutrition-survey-finds-unprecedented-level-child-malnutrition-part-sudans-north http://www.unicef.org/press-releases/unicef-executive-director-warns-deepening-protection-crisis-sudan-violence-and http://www.wfp.org/news/families-sudan-pushed-brink-amidst-brutal-conflict-and-famine-wfp-resources-dry   Jan. 2026   Sudan: Two-thirds of people need aid as conflict reaches 1,000th day. (OCHA)   Today marks 1,000 days since the start of the war in Sudan, with civilians continuing to bear the brunt of a conflict they did not choose. Nearly 34 million people – or some two-thirds of the population – now need humanitarian assistance, making this the world’s largest humanitarian crisis.   It is also the largest displacement crisis, with 9.3 million people displaced inside the country and more than 4.3 million refugees in neighbouring states.   Food security conditions are catastrophic. Famine has been confirmed in El Fasher in North Darfur and in Kadugli in South Kordofan, with at least 20 other areas at risk. More than 21 million people are estimated to be acutely food insecure nationwide. Sieges in Kordofan have cut off Kadugli and Dilling, limiting access to food, markets and farmland.   The health system is close to collapse. Fewer than half of health facilities are fully functional, with even lower coverage in areas of active fighting. Cholera has been reported in all 18 states, with more than 72,000 suspected cases recorded last year.   Nearly 12 million people, mostly women and girls, are at risk of gender-based violence. Households headed by women are three times more likely to be food insecure, and three-quarters report not having enough to eat.   OCHA also reports continued fighting in Darfur, drone attacks and long-range strikes on civilian infrastructure.   Despite the mounting challenges, humanitarian partners reached millions of people in 2025, with local and women-led organizations often serving as the first or only responders in high-risk areas. However, access remains dangerous and politically constrained, and more than 125 aid workers have been killed since April 2023.   OCHA calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities, respect for international humanitarian law, safe access for aid, protection of civilians and aid workers, and renewed funding, especially for local and women-led partners.   http://humanitarianaction.info/document/global-humanitarian-overview-2026/article/sudan-4 http://humanitarianaction.info/plan/1514 http://www.unocha.org/news/todays-top-news-sudan-ukraine-occupied-palestinian-territory http://news.un.org/en/audio/2026/01/1166795 http://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2026/01/visiting-turk-salutes-sudanese-peoples-struggle-peace-calls   15 Jan. 2026   Families in Sudan pushed to the brink amidst brutal conflict and famine as resources dry up. (WFP)   As Sudan marks more than 1,000 days of brutal conflict this month, what has become the world’s largest hunger and displacement crisis shows no signs of abating. This comes as the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) is struggling to keep life-saving emergency operations running.   WFP has reached millions of the most vulnerable women, men, and children in Sudan with emergency food, cash, and nutrition assistance since the resurgence of civil conflict in April 2023. The agency continues to deliver life-saving food aid to an average of four million people every month, including in previously hard-to-reach areas across the Darfur and Kordofan regions, and Khartoum and Al Jazira states.   “These hard-earned gains now risk being reversed,” said Ross Smith, WFP Director of Emergency Preparedness and Response. “WFP has been forced to reduce rations to the absolute minimum for survival. By the end of March, we will have depleted our food stocks in Sudan. Without immediate additional funding, millions of people will be left without vital food assistance within weeks.“   WFP has teams on-the-ground and the access to scale up and save more lives, funding permitted. Over the last six months, nearly 1.8 million people - in famine or risk of famine areas - have received regular monthly WFP assistance helping to push back hunger in nine locations.   After more than two years of fighting, more than 21 million people face acute hunger in Sudan. Famine has been confirmed in parts of the country where months of fighting made access for aid workers largely impossible, and nearly 12 million people have been forced to flee their homes.   Today, 3.7 million children and pregnant and breastfeeding mothers are also malnourished. Recent surveys indicate record levels of malnutrition in some locations of North Darfur where up to more than half of the young children are malnourished.   "One thousand days of conflict is one thousand days too many. Every single day that fighting continues, families are falling deeper into hunger and communities are pushed further to the brink," said Smith. "We can turn the tide and avert famine conditions spreading further, but only if we have the funding to support these most vulnerable families.”   WFP urgently requires USD700 million to continue its operations in Sudan from January to June.   http://www.wfp.org/news/families-sudan-pushed-brink-amidst-brutal-conflict-and-famine-wfp-resources-dry http://news.un.org/en/focus-topic/sudan-conflict-2023
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