Sudan’s conflict has driven 13 million people from their homes, a senior UN official told the Security Council on Sunday.
Rosemary DiCarlo, UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, said 8.7 million remain internally displaced across 18 states.
The UN human rights office documented nearly 1,400 civilian deaths in the first half of 2026, DiCarlo said.
Drone strikes accounted for 1,100 of those deaths, she told council members.
Recent weeks have seen intensified drone warfare alongside ground fighting in areas spared by seasonal rains, DiCarlo said.
Clashes persist in North Kordofan, West Darfur, North Darfur and Blue Nile state, she added.
DiCarlo voiced grave concern over fighting near the Sudanese-Ethiopian border, calling the escalation deeply troubling.
She said the United Nations backs mediation efforts by the Quartet, comprising the United States, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates.
Those efforts aim to secure a humanitarian truce, DiCarlo said, though no breakthrough was announced.
Tom Fletcher, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, painted a grim picture of relief operations on the ground.
Two-thirds of Sudan’s population urgently needs assistance, Fletcher told the council.
Aid workers navigate front lines, drone strikes, and bureaucratic obstacles to reach them, he said.
The UN has delivered at least one form of aid to roughly 11 million people, Fletcher said.
That figure represents 52% of the humanitarian response plan’s priority population, he added.
A food distribution plan targets 11.4 million people, though education, health, shelter and water programs lag behind schedule, Fletcher said.
April’s Berlin donor conference drew substantial pledges, Fletcher noted, but funding has not kept pace.
Just over 40% of the $2.87 billion required for Sudan’s humanitarian response has been raised, he said.
That shortfall persists despite two-thirds of the year having already elapsed, Fletcher told the council.
Sudan’s war, now well into its third year, shows no sign of abating, briefings suggested.
