UN voices concern over drone strikes, cholera in Sudan's Kordofan
On Tuesday, a drone reportedly struck a water truck in Hamrat Al-Sheikh in North Kordofan state, causing civilian casualties and disrupting access to essential water supplies.
UN humanitarians on Thursday voiced concern over escalating drone attacks and the spread of Cholera in Sudan's Kordofan region. (AFP/File)
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UN humanitarians on Thursday voiced concern over escalating drone attacks and the spread of Cholera in Sudan's Kordofan region.
On Tuesday, a drone reportedly struck a water truck in Hamrat Al-Sheikh in North Kordofan state, causing civilian casualties and disrupting access to essential water supplies.
On Monday, a drone strike targeted a civilian vehicle near Al-Shaatut village, east of Jabrat Al-Sheikh, resulting in civilian casualties and damage, said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in its latest humanitarian update issued on Thursday.
Cholera also continues to spread across the Kordofan region, the office said.
On Wednesday, humanitarian partners reported a suspected case in El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan, where continued drone attacks have led to severe water shortages. Currently, the water supply can meet only 20 percent of the city's needs, it said.
The World Health Organisation reported that cholera response supplies were prepositioned in El Obeid and that a cholera treatment centre was established in the city.
OCHA calls once again for increased, timely and flexible funding. The 2026 Sudan humanitarian response plan, which requires about 2.9 billion dollars, is less than a third funded, with 930 million dollars received to date.
The UN Refugee Agency said that on July 1, a drone strike hit an aid truck on the road near Tendelti on the border between North Kordofan and West Nile states, which was carrying 50 tonnes of relief items. While the driver escaped, all the blankets, jerry cans, kitchen sets, sleeping mats, plastic sheets and solar lamps, intended for displaced families in Abu Jubeyha, South Kordofan state, were destroyed.
The UN Children's Fund said health supplies were delivered on Wednesday to the city of Abu Jubeyha, South Kordofan State, to support both emergency and routine health services for some 240,000 people across the area.
15 killed, 10 injured in drone attacks in Sudan's North Kordofan
At least 15 people were killed and 10 others injured in two drone attacks in Sudan's North Kordofan State on Monday and Tuesday, according to a rights group and eyewitnesses.
The Sudanese Emergency Lawyers, a local rights group, said in a statement on Tuesday that "a drone struck a civilian vehicle en route to a wedding in the town of Al-Sha'tout on Monday, killing 13 people, including five women."
A doctor at Jabrat al-Sheikh Hospital, who requested anonymity, told Xinhua that the hospital received 13 bodies and seven injured people on Monday following the strike on the civilian vehicle.
Meanwhile, an eyewitness told Xinhua that the second attack killed the driver and another civilian and injured three others.
Also on Tuesday, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) General Command said in a statement that its ground forces have shot down an FH-95 strategic drone north of the Al-Andaraba area in North Kordofan State, without specifying its operator.
The developments came amid intensified military activity across the Kordofan region since October 2025, where drone warfare has become increasingly widespread.
The Sudanese government, along with human rights organisations and advocacy groups, has accused the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of targeting civilian facilities and public service infrastructure. The RSF has denied the accusations, claiming that its operations target military objectives and that it is committed to protecting civilians.
On May 12, the UN warned of escalating drone attacks in Sudan, noting that such attacks killed at least 880 civilians nationwide between January and April 2026, with the Kordofan region hit the hardest.
Since mid-April 2023, Sudan has been engulfed in a conflict between the SAF and the RSF, which has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced millions in the country and beyond.