The UN and the crisis in Sudan (Jul-Dec 2024)

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 October

A mother and her child flee for safety amid ongoing clashes in Sudan.
© UNICEF/Proscovia Nakibuuka – A mother and her child flee for safety amid ongoing clashes in Sudan.

The UN-designated human rights expert on Sudan has called for the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), along with their allied militias, to take immediate steps to protect civilians in greater Khartoum amid escalating violence and alarming reports of summary executions. (UN News)

1 October

  • The Backstory: A broken doll in broken Sudan (WFP)

27 September

Women and girls in the midst of the brutal conflict between rival militaries in Sudan are being disproportionately impacted.
© UNICEF/Mohamed Zakaria – Women and girls in the midst of the brutal conflict between rival militaries in Sudan are being disproportionately impacted.

Women and girls in the midst of the brutal conflict between rival militaries in Sudan are being disproportionately impacted, including 5.8 million who are now displaced, according to an alert released by UN Women (UN News)

  • Sudan humanitarian crisis has catastrophic impact for women and girls, with two-fold increase of gender-based violence (UN Women)

26 September

Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan Abdelrahman Al-Burhan, President of the Transitional Sovereign Council of Sudan addresses the general debate of the General Assembly’s seventy-ninth session.
UN Photo/Loey Felipe Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan Abdelrahman Al-Burhan, President of the Transitional Sovereign Council of Sudan addresses the general debate of the General Assembly’s seventy-ninth session.

The President of the Transitional Sovereign Council of Sudan told the UN General Assembly on Thursday that while his country was committed to peace, rebels funded by parties elsewhere in the region were waging “devastating aggression” against his country. (UN News)

  • The Humanitarian Country Team in Sudan is deeply alarmed by a rise in conflict-related sexual violence (OCHA)

25 September

Nearly 18 months of fighting have killed thousands and impacted millions across Sudan, including in Kassala, eastern Sudan.
© UNHCR/Aymen Alfadil – Nearly 18 months of fighting have killed thousands and impacted millions across Sudan, including in Kassala, eastern Sudan.

With war raging in Sudan and no end in sight to the catastrophic hunger crisis it has created, UN agencies and Member States meeting at the General Assembly in New York on Wednesday prepared to issue a renewed call for urgent action to protect the country’s people. (UN News)

  • Global community to urge action on escalating Sudan crisis at UN General Assembly (OCHA)
  • Readout of the Secretary-General’s meeting with H.E. Lt. General Abdel-Fattah Al-Burhan Abdelrahman Al-Burhan, President of the Transitional Sovereign Council of the Republic of the Sudan (OSSG)
  • Acting UN relief chief urges swift action to protect Sudanese civilians amid crisis (OCHA)
  • “Help us deliver peace”: A call to end Sudan’s human-made crisis (OCHA)

24 September

Sudan’s famine-hit Zamzam camp receive vital food, as WFP faces a race against time to save lives (WFP)

23 September

  • Highlights of the noon briefing by Stéphane Dujarric Spokesperson for Secretary-General António Guterres (OSSG)

21 September

  • Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General – on the situation in El Fasher, North Darfur (OSSG)

18 September

  • ASG Pobee warns heightened risk of atrocities in Sudan (DPPA)
  • As Sudan crisis deepens, acting UN relief chief tells Security Council “it is time to act” (OCHA)

15 September

  • The civil war in Sudan has brought to country’s health system to its knees. UN mobile health teams are attempting to plug the gaps, crossing conflict zones to help pregnant women to give birth in safety. (UN News)

12 September

  • WFP News Video: Flooding Brings More Hunger and Suffering To Those Struggling to Survive the War in Sudan (WFP)
  • UNESCO raises the alarm on reports of illicit trafficking of cultural heritage (UNESCO)
  • An atmosphere of desperation, extreme fear and trauma envelops the women of Sudan in a conflict that has left half of its 50-million-person population in dire need of assistance, according to Laila Baker, a senior regional director from the UN sexual and reproductive health agency, UNFPA. (UN News)

11 September

At least 30 children reportedly killed or injured in shelling of civilian areas in Sennar city, Sudan (UNICEF)

10 September

  • UN Human Rights Deputy High Commissioner Nada Al-Nashif statement on Sudan (UN Geneva)

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