The World Food Programme warns of a deteriorating humanitarian situation in El Obeid.

18 July 2026 (PEN) The World Food Programme’s Country Director in Sudan, Abdallah Alwardat, expressed concern about the deteriorating humanitarian situation in El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan State, due to severe shortages of food, water and fuel, and a doubling of the population as a result of displacement.

Al-Wardat, speaking via video link from Kosti to journalists in Geneva, following his visit to El Obeid, said the city's population had doubled from half a million to about one million.

He added that the program provided assistance to more than 100,000 displaced people and 17,000 children in camps within the city, but the needs are still greater than the available response.

He noted that the lack of resources and the shortage of commercial trucks limit the program's ability to expand its response, despite its ability to reach the city.

Al-Wardat pointed to scenes of families sharing reduced food rations, amid a lack of income sources and increasing humanitarian needs.

He confirmed that the program's latest mission helped alleviate the fuel crisis, and that aid sufficient for two months had been delivered.

He concluded by saying: "We have the capacity to deliver aid if the necessary financial support is available."

The city of El Obeid and its surroundings are witnessing an increasing military escalation within the ongoing war in Sudan since April 2023 between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, amid drone attacks and targeting of civilian infrastructure, which has prompted UN warnings of the risk of exacerbating the humanitarian crisis and the possibility of widespread violations against civilians in the capital of North Kordofan.