4,000 Sudanese families in El-Obeid need urgent assistance: Health Ministry

KHARTOUM/ISTANBUL

Nearly 4,000 displaced families in El-Obeid city, the capital of North Kordofan State, need urgent humanitarian assistance, the Sudanese Health Ministry said Friday.

A ministry statement said a delegation led by Health Minister Haitham Mohammed Ibrahim visited a displacement camp in the city on Friday, accompanied by ministry undersecretary Ali Babiker and other officials.

“Around 4,000 families in the camp need urgent interventions in health, education, food and clothing,” Babiker said, calling on international organizations “to increase their efforts” in the area.

He said the Health Ministry remains committed to supporting residents of the camp and providing essential medical services to stabilize their health conditions.

On Wednesday, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said more than 39,000 people have been displaced from the localities of Bara, Shikan, Al-Rahad, Umm Rawaba and Umm Dham Haj Ahmad in North Kordofan since Oct. 26, following the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF)’s takeover of El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur.

In addition to El-Fasher, the three Kordofan states -- North, West and South -- have seen days of heavy fighting between Sudanese army forces and the RSF.

The conflict in Sudan between the army and the RSF, which began in April 2023, has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions. It has killed at least 40,000 people and displaced 12 million, according to the World Health Organization.

Last month, the RSF seized El-Fasher and was accused of massacres. The group controls all five Darfur states, out of Sudan’s 18 states, while the army holds most of the remaining 13 states, including Khartoum.

Darfur makes up about one-fifth of Sudan’s territory, but most of the country’s 50 million people live in army-held areas.