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Humanitarian crisis deepens
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that conflict, mass displacement and a worsening cholera outbreak are driving humanitarian needs higher across Sudan, as Deputy Spokesperson for the United Nations Secretary-General said escalating insecurity and intercommunal violence in Darfur have displaced more than 20,000 people in recent weeks.
OCHA said Sudan has recorded more than 2,000 suspected cholera cases and 170 deaths since May, with the Kordofan region accounting for most infections, while the UN and its partners continue to support nearly 80 disease surveillance sites, 16 treatment centres and eight oral rehydration points and carry out prevention campaigns reaching more than 270,000 people.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that more than 2,500 people fled two villages in Ambro locality in North Darfur between July 20 and 23, with most crossing the border into Chad.
OCHA also warned that severe funding shortages are limiting the response, saying Sudan’s 2026 humanitarian appeal has received only $1.1 billion, around 40 per cent of the $2.9 billion required.
In Khartoum and Nyala, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) held international humanitarian law workshops for 114 fighters from different military formations and similar sessions for the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), with ICRC spokesperson Farid El Hamid saying, “The price of inaction is increasing day by day.”
Frontline shifts in Kordofan
In North Kordofan, Rapid Support Forces (RSF) commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemeti, ordered his troops to change their military strategy in his first public appearance since the Sudanese army announced it had captured several areas in North Kordofan state.
In a recorded video released on Monday, Hemeti urged his forces to “change their way” starting immediately and called on RSF fighters to stop filming their movements, saying such videos provide the army with useful intelligence.
The Sudanese army said it had captured the towns of Bara and Jabra al-Sheikh, as well as the Umm Sayala area, following battles with the RSF, and Anadolu Ajansı reported that Head of Sudan’s Sovereignty Council Abdel Fattah al-Burhan toured Umm Sayala and Jabrat al-Sheikh on Monday.
Anadolu Ajansı said al-Burhan was accompanied by Darfur Governor Minni Arko Minnawi, North Kordofan Governor Abdel Khaliq Abdel Latif and Sudan Shield Forces commander Abu Aqla Keikel, while Radio Dabanga said El Burhan traveled by military helicopter to inspect frontline troops.
As fighting continued, allAfrica reported that local sources disputed claims that the Omdurman-El Obeid Export Road had reopened, saying clashes are continuing along key sections and that the RSF still controls the Reihad El Nuba area, making civilian movement unsafe.
At stake: access and control
As the Sudanese army pressed its advance, Radio Dabanga reported that Sovereignty Council President and Commander-in-Chief of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) Lt Gen Abdelfattah El Burhan visited newly captured towns of Bara, Jabra El Sheikh, and Um Sayala on Monday, a day after the army announced it had seized the areas from the RSF.
Radio Dabanga quoted military analyst Brig Gen Walid Ezzeldin saying the recent advances strengthen the SAF’s control of the Export Road, describing it as “one of Sudan’s most important military and logistical corridors.”
The same report said Nihad El Tayeb, senior research assistant at the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), described the recapture of Bara, Jabra El Sheikh, and Um Sayala as a “major strategic breakthrough,” while Suhaib Hamid said the SAF launched its offensive simultaneously across several axes to secure the El Obeid–Bara–Omdurman road.
In El Obeid, AFP reported that relieved El-Obeid native Sabreen Mohamed said “the highway opening means goods can flow,” even as the road to Khartoum remained closed to civilians and local officials attributed drone strikes at dawn inside the city to the RSF.
Meanwhile, the Sudan Doctors Network reported extensive destruction at Jabra El Sheikh Hospital after the town came under SAF control, and allAfrica said the RSF launched another drone attack on El Obeid at around midday on Sunday, with no immediate information on casualties or damage available.
