SITUATION OVERVIEW

Fighting broke out in the morning of 15 December between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the outskirts of Wad Medani located in Aj Jazirah State 136 km south of the capital Khartoum. The city has served as a hub for humanitarian operations since fighting broke out in April this year between SAF and RSF.

Shops and markets have reportedly shut down in Wad Medani. Hantoob bridge in Wad Medani is reportedly partially closed by SAF as a security measure.

A suspension of all humanitarian field missions within and from Aj Jazirah State has been put in place as of 15 December until further notice.

Background

After years of protracted crisis, Sudan plunged into a conflict of alarming scale in mid-April 2023 when fighting between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), broke out initially in the capital Khartoum on April 15, and quickly expanded to other areas across the country. Khartoum has been the site of heavy fighting, while severe violent clashes and heavy bombardments have also been reported in the greater Darfur and Kordofan regions. The hostilities have resulted in extensive damage to critical infrastructure and facilities, including water and healthcare, the collapse of banking and financial services, frequent interruptions to electricity supply and telecommunication services and widespread looting. Humanitarian needs have increased and almost 25 million people now require assistance in Sudan. Since the conflict broke out, more than 6.7 million people have been forced to leave their homes in search of safety elsewhere.

An estimated 5.9 million people live in Aj Jazirah State, Sudan’s breadbasket, with 700,000 people living in Wad Medani. More than 270,000 people in the city are in need of humanitarian assistance. Since April 15, nearly 500,000 people fled to Al Jazirah State, 86,400 of those are in Wad Medani. About 1.9 million people are in crisis (IPC 3) and above levels of food security in the state with 179,000 in Medani between October 2023 and February 2024, according to the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). There are 57 humanitarian organizations working in the state, including 25 INGOs, 21 NNGOs and six UN agencies. So far this year humanitarian organizations have assisted 730,000 people in the State with food assistance, WASH, Health and other humanitarian interventions.

*** For more information, please contact: Sofie Karlsson, Head of Communications and Analysis, OCHA Sudan, karlsson2@un.org, Mob: +249 (0)912 174 456