More lives lost as Sudan prepares to mark 1,000 days of war

By Kielce Gussie

Sudan is nearing a tragic milestone, as Friday 9 January will mark 1,000 days of conflict in the African nation. Violence continues to escalate and attacks are ongoing, with recent drone strikes  on villages in different parts of the country. Thirteen people - including children - were killed on 6 January following an attack on Sudan’s North Kordofan region.

United Nations spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric said the latest strikes are placing civilians at “extreme risk” and are driving displacement, as families flee the violence in an effort to protect themselves.

A country divided

Sudan has been embroiled in violence since April 2023 with rival militaries fighting for control of the country. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia has been gaining traction in the west and south as Sudan’s military has control of the majority of the east, including the capital - and this has divided the country.

Dire situation

Following a series of drone strikes over the weekend, the number of casualities has risen as the attacks also hit the “epicentre of Sudan’s hunger crisis, North Darfur”, as the UN reported. In December 2025, UNICEF conducted a nutrition survey in a city in the North Darfur state – one of the areas most devastated by the conflict – which found that more than half of children under five are acutely malnourished.

Makeshift shelters erected by displaced Sudanese who fled El-Fasher after the city fell to the Rapid Support Forces   (AFP or licensors)

The situation appears grimmer when looking at the number of people who have been uprooted as a result of the internal conflict. The International Organization for Migration has pointed out that almost 1,000 people were forced to flee a city in South Kordofan between December 31 and January 4. Another 2,000 were displaced from a locality in North Kordofan on January 5.

Over the course of a two-month period (the end of October to the end of December), some 65,000 people have had to flee from the Kordofan region. Amid ongoing violence - fueled by external influences and resulting in the destabilization of several neighboring countries - the UN aid coordination office, OCHA, has identified Sudan as facing one of the world’s largest displacement crises, with more than 12 million people uprooted.

Working to improve lives

Dujarric has reiterated the call for an immediate end to the violence and urged for the protection of civilians, in addition to rapid, safe, and sustained access to humanitarian aid.

In the meantime, a number of UN agencies have come together to help improve the living conditions for people in the capital city of Khartoum after the government recaptured it last year.

For example, the UN Development Programme and its partners are working to remove debris, create opportunities for locals, and help in the distribution of medicine. In the city of Ed-Damer, this same program offers psychosocial support for women.