Fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, ongoing since April 2023, intensified again in January 2026, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

On 12 January 2026, local reports indicated that at least 19 civilians were killed in a ground assault in Jarjira, North Darfur. The same day, a drone attack in Sinja, capital of Sennar state, reportedly killed 10 civilians and injured nine.

Displacement continues at scale. The International Organization for Migration estimates that more than 8,000 people fled villages in Kernoi locality, North Darfur, in early January, with some crossing into Chad. Additional movements include 125 people displaced from Kadugli and nearly 300 from Dilling in South Kordofan.

A nutrition emergency is worsening. A UNICEF survey conducted in December 2025 found acute malnutrition rates far exceeding the 15 per cent emergency threshold set by the World Health Organization. In Um Baru locality, global acute malnutrition reached 53 per cent.

OCHA has reiterated calls for civilian protection, humanitarian access, and increased donor funding.