NAIROBI
A UNICEF official on Friday called on the UN Security Council to implement an immediate humanitarian truce and halt the transfer of explosive weapons to Sudan to prevent a deepening humanitarian crisis in the North Kordofan region.
“Four years into this war, we have yet to see a single humanitarian truce. We have had none so far,” UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Hannan Sulieman told the council.
She presented four urgent requests to the body: immediate action to prevent military escalation in the city of El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state; a unanimous call to stop the flow of explosive weapons to the warring parties; the establishment of a formal truce; and the facilitation of rapid, unimpeded humanitarian access across conflict lines.
Sulieman highlighted a “deadly legacy” of modern warfare, underlining that nearly 80% of reported child casualties during the first four months of 2026 were linked to drone attacks.
She warned that approximately 500,000 civilians in El Obeid are currently at risk, noting that any further deterioration of the security situation would cut off critical aid to the wider Kordofan region.
– External support, regional tension
Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo echoed the urgency, saying the warring parties are only able to sustain their military operations through “sophisticated weaponry they obtained through external support.”
She urged external actors to use their influence to end the war rather than remain complicit in its continuation.
DiCarlo also pointed to rising tensions between Sudan and its neighbors, Ethiopia and Chad. She said allegations of interference in internal security matters risk drawing neighboring states more directly into the conflict, further destabilizing the region.
Humanitarian educational collapse
The ongoing war has left nearly 19.5 million people facing acute hunger, with 825,000 children under five expected to suffer from severe acute malnutrition this year.
Sulieman reported that half of Sudan’s school buildings are no longer functional, leaving at least 8 million children out of the classroom. For girls, the official noted, the lack of education increases the risk of “child marriage, sexual violence, and other forms of exploitation.”
Sudan has been engulfed in conflict since April 2023, when fighting erupted between the army and the RSF over plans to integrate the paramilitary force into the military. The war has triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, killing tens of thousands and displacing millions.
