Sudan humanitarian emergency

Sudan’s war is driving people back into shattered cities while civilians in Darfur are still being killed in attacks on homes, camps and hospitals. (news.un.org) The conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces began on April 15, 2023, and United Nations agencies said this month it has created the world’s largest humanitarian and displacement crisis. About 14 million people have been uprooted, including roughly 9 million inside Sudan and 4.4 million who fled across borders. (news.un.org) On April 21, the International Organization for Migration said nearly 4 million people had voluntarily returned across Sudan, especially to Khartoum and Al Jazirah, but many found destroyed homes, damaged water and electricity networks, and few functioning schools or clinics. The agency said those returns could become unsustainable without repairs, services and jobs. (iom.int) The returns follow shifts in front lines around central Sudan, but Darfur remains one of the most dangerous areas. United Nations aid chief Denise Brown said on April 13 that civilians there were still being killed, displaced and subjected to widespread sexual violence as the war entered its fourth year. (news.un.org) A drone strike on El Daein Teaching Hospital in East Darfur on March 21 killed at least 64 people and injured 89, according to the World Health Organization. The agency said 13 children, two nurses, a doctor and multiple patients were among the dead, and the hospital was left non-functional. (news.un.org) The World Health Organization said the hospital had served hundreds of thousands of people across East Darfur. United Nations officials said the attack came amid a sharp increase in drone strikes on civilians in Sudan this year. (who.int, news.un.org) The humanitarian picture is wider than Darfur alone. The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in its April 2026 response plan that hostilities had intensified across Darfur and Kordofan and that protection risks were being driven by systematic atrocities, repeated violations of international humanitarian law and persistent impunity. (unocha.org) Aid agencies are also warning that Sudan’s health system is breaking down after three years of war. The World Health Organization said fighting, attacks on health facilities and restrictions on aid movement have deepened disease outbreaks and cut access to care across conflict zones. (who.int) The immediate split in Sudan is stark: some families are returning to Khartoum and Al Jazirah because front lines moved, while families in Darfur are still fleeing attacks and losing the hospitals they depend on. United Nations agencies and the International Organization for Migration are calling for more money, safer access for aid workers and stronger protection for civilians. (iom.int, news.un.org) For now, the war’s third anniversary has not brought a ceasefire. It has brought a country where millions are trying to go home and millions more still cannot. (news.un.org, iom.int)