OCHA: Aid Workers in Sudan Face Threats of Kidnapping and Intimidation

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Sudan expressed deep concern over the intensifying random artillery shelling in El Fasher, targeting displacement sites and densely populated neighborhoods across the city.

OCHA reported that humanitarian workers are facing continuous threats, including kidnapping, detention, and intimidation, which are severely hindering relief operations.

The office also noted that the presence of three active frontlines — in the north, west, and south of El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan State — has made it impossible to deliver humanitarian aid through these routes.

Additionally, attacks on electricity and water infrastructure have caused major supply disruptions, leading to the collapse of health services amid outbreaks of cholera, dengue fever, and malaria.

OCHA further highlighted the growing bureaucratic and administrative obstacles restricting humanitarian operations. Authorities in the Gadaref, White Nile, and Al-Jazira states now require federal-level permits for movement between states, resulting in delays in aid delivery.

The agency emphasized that these approval restrictions pose major challenges for protection partners, who are struggling to carry out programs addressing protection concerns and gender-based violence due to the ongoing limitations on clearances and access.