KHARTOUM, Sudan / ISTANBUL
-Fighting in the Kordofan region in southern Sudan has led to hundreds of deaths, mass displacement, and the collapse of basic services, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said Wednesday.
“Fighting in the Kordofan states has intensified since the beginning of 2025, resulting in hundreds of deaths and exacerbating the country’s humanitarian crisis. In some areas, 90% of civilians have fled,” Daniel O’Malley, the ICRC Head of Delegation in Sudan, said in a statement.
“In addition to the fighting, the presence of explosive remnants of war in Sudan poses a serious risk to civilians, particularly those fleeing areas affected by hostilities or attempting to return home.”
O’Malley said restrictions on the movement of goods have worsened shortages, forcing more people to flee in search of survival.
“Lack of food, medical care, and safe escape routes is deepening the humanitarian crisis in the Kordofan states and other conflict-affected areas in Sudan.”
The ICRC urged all parties to the conflict “to comply with international humanitarian law, which prohibits attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and markets.”
North, South, and West Kordofan have witnessed fierce battles between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), as both sides vie for control of the region.
The RSF has seen its territorial control shrink rapidly in recent months across Sudan in favor of the army, which has expanded its gains to include the capital, Khartoum, and several other areas.
As of now, in Sudan’s 18 states, RSF forces retain control only over parts of North and West Kordofan, pockets in South Kordofan and Blue Nile states, and four of the five states of the Darfur region.
The army and RSF have been fighting a war since April 2023 that has killed more than 20,000 victims and displaced 14 million, according to the UN and local authorities. Research from US universities, however, estimates the death toll at around 130,000.
