The UN and the crisis in Sudan (Jan-Jun 2025)

8.9 million
people internally displaced (UNHCR, May 2026)
150,000+
reportedly killed
33.7 million
people in need of assistance (OCHA, May 2026)

What is the crisis about?

On 15 April 15, 2023, the fighting erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The armed conflict is affecting millions of lives in Sudan and causing mass displacement, food insecurity and education challenges that require immediate humanitarian help.

Right now, Sudan is experiencing a humanitarian catastrophe with over 25 million people in desperate need of assistance.

More information on the background to the conflict.

Recent Statements and News

3 April

  • Sudan: UN Human Rights Chief appalled by widespread extrajudicial killings in Khartoum (OHCHR)
  • UN calls for urgent, continued action to tackle explosive ordnance crisis to protect civilians in Sudan (UNMAS)

1 April

  • “I witnessed unimaginable horrors”: Sexual violence used as weapon of terror against women and girls across Sudan (UNFPA)

27 March

Sudan war: Displacement figures fall for first time

© UNICEF/Shehzad Noorani | A mother walks with her children to their shelter at an IDP camp in North Darfur.
© UNICEF/Shehzad Noorani | A mother walks with her children to their shelter at an IDP camp in North Darfur.

For the first time in nearly two years of brutal conflict between rival militaries, the number of Sudanese internally displaced has fallen, the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported on Thursday. (UN News)

26 March

  • Comment by UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Sudanese Armed Forces airstrikes in Tora, North Darfur (OHCHR)
  • Darfur market attack: A call to prioritize civilian safety (RC/HC)
  • 825,000 children trapped as conflict rages in Sudan’s Al Fasher and Zamzam internally displaced camp (UNICEF)
  • Reproductive health agency decries devastating impact of war on women and girls (UN News)
  • Rights chief deplores deadly army strikes on North Darfur market (UN News)

25 March

  • First Recorded Drop in Sudan Displacement, Yet Humanitarian Crisis Persists (IOM)

24 March

  • Remarks by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Mission in South Sudan to media (UNMISS)

21 March

  • UNICEF condemns looting of life-saving supplies for children from Al Bashair hospital in Khartoum State (UNICEF)

20 March

  • Sudan: Escalating violence against civilians as fighting intensifies (OHCHR)
  • Sudan: Civilians targeted as hostilities intensify in the capital (UN News)

14 March

  • Children in Sudan: a generation at risk (UNICEF)

13 March

Children facing ‘unimaginable suffering’, warns UNICEF chief
© UNICEF/Ahmed Elfatih Mohamdeen. Two children displaced by fighting in Al Jazirah state rest at a gathering point in southeastern Sudan.
© UNICEF/Ahmed Elfatih Mohamdeen. Two children displaced by fighting in Al Jazirah state rest at a gathering point in southeastern Sudan.

Sudan is now the world’s largest and most devastating humanitarian crisis, the head of the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned on Thursday. After two years of war, over 30 million people – more than half of them children – are living in the grip of mass atrocities, famine and deadly disease. (UN News)

  • UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell’s remarks at UN Security Council meeting on Sudan (UNICEF)

10 March

  • Urgent appeal as major donors reduce life-saving funding amid Sudan crisis – Statement by the United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami (OCHA UN RC/HC Sudan)

9 March

Key facts and figures for the Sudan crisis (as of 7 March 2025)

Key facts and figures for the Sudan crisis (As of 7 March 2025)

7 March

  • Accelerating Action for Sudanese Women Amid Conflict – Statement by the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan (OHCHR)

6 March

  • UN releases US$110 million to shore up life-saving assistance in neglected humanitarian crises (OCHA)
  • UN report details rampant abuse of detainees amid ongoing conflict (OHCHR)
  • Access to stricken Zamzam camp ‘is nearly impossible’ (UN News)

5 March

  • IOM and IHP Expand Humanitarian Hub in Chad to Aid 220,000 Amid Sudan Crisis (IOM)

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