As Sudan’s brutal internal conflict approaches its third year, United Nations humanitarian officials have issued a stark warning that escalating drone attacks are killing growing numbers of civilian non-combatants, destroying critical public infrastructure, and pushing an already catastrophic humanitarian crisis to new depths.
In its latest public briefing, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) confirmed that drone strikes have increasingly targeted densely populated civilian areas and healthcare facilities — core protected sites under international humanitarian law — severely limiting local communities’ access to life-sustaining essential services.
One of the deadliest recent incidents took place last Thursday in Sudan’s White Nile State, where a drone attack on Al-Jabalain Hospital left 10 health workers dead and 22 more injured, according to on-ground reports. The strike forced an immediate shutdown of most medical operations at the facility, leaving tens of thousands of local residents without access to routine and emergency care.
In a weekend social media statement, Tom Fletcher, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, reiterated the global body’s demand for full protection of medical personnel and facilities. He emphasized that binding international humanitarian law mandates unwavering safeguards for healthcare systems operating in conflict zones. OCHA officials added that the Al-Jabalain Hospital attack is not an isolated incident, but part of a sustained pattern of violence against healthcare across Sudan.
Data from the World Health Organization, verified over the course of the nearly three-year conflict, confirms more than 200 documented attacks on healthcare facilities across the country that have killed over 2,000 people. Just in the first three months of 2026 alone, 13 verified attacks have left 184 people dead and nearly 300 injured.
Another deadly strike hit civilian areas last Wednesday in Blue Nile State, where drone bombings targeted a public market in the village of Balila and surrounding communities, killing seven civilians according to initial reports.
Beyond direct casualties, the rapidly escalating insecurity has triggered a new wave of forced displacement. Data from the International Organization for Migration shows that between mid-February and late March 2026, more than 10,000 people fled their homes in Kurmuk locality, with a large share crossing the border into neighboring Ethiopia to seek safety.
Displaced families that have relocated to Blue Nile’s state capital Ed Damazine currently face acute shortages of food, medical care, and safe shelter, OCHA reports. Vulnerable groups including women and children are at drastically increased risk of gender-based violence and exploitation, while humanitarian aid groups still face major barriers to reaching affected communities in the region.
Despite the mounting operational and security challenges, UN humanitarian agencies say they have not suspended life-saving work across the country. The UN Sudan Humanitarian Fund has allocated nearly $200 million to deliver critical assistance to approximately 4 million vulnerable Sudanese people to date.
As the conflict marks its third anniversary, OCHA also noted that more than 1.6 million people have chosen to return to Sudan’s capital Khartoum in recent months, even though unexploded ordnance and widespread damage to public infrastructure continue to pose severe daily risks to returnees. In response, UN agencies are expanding their operational footprint in the capital, including reopening offices that have been closed since the outbreak of fighting in 2023.
Stephane Dujarric, chief spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told reporters that Pekka Haavisto, Guterres’ personal envoy for Sudan, is currently conducting a series of diplomatic engagements across the region aimed at de-escalating hostilities and protecting civilian populations. Currently based in Nairobi, Haavisto recently held talks with Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, commander of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, following separate negotiations last week with Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, Sudan’s army chief and president of the Transitional Sovereign Council.
Dujarric confirmed that the diplomatic meetings provided a constructive space for dialogue, with all parties exploring tangible, practical pathways to reduce violence and protect civilians. All negotiating parties expressed their willingness to cooperate with the United Nations’ mediation efforts, the spokesperson added.
“This is encouraging and must swiftly translate into concrete progress towards ending the suffering of all Sudanese people, once and for all,” Dujarric said. He also confirmed that Denise Brown, the UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, has returned to Khartoum alongside a core operations team to scale up aid delivery, even as most OCHA staff remain based in Port Sudan for security reasons. Multiple UN agencies have now resumed operations in Khartoum after three years of closure.
“As the three-year mark of hostilities in Sudan approaches, we reiterate our call for the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, including health facilities, an immediate cessation of hostilities, and rapid, safe, unimpeded and sustained humanitarian access,” Dujarric said. He added that the international response is currently hampered by a severe critical funding gap: Sudan’s 2026 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan, which requests $2.9 billion to assist more than 20 million vulnerable people across the country, is only 16 percent funded, with just $465 million received by aid organizations to date.
