In El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan, Sudanese women and girls face a harrowing dilemma: risk drone attacks during the day or sexual violence at night to collect water. Anna Mutavati, UN Women’s regional director for East and Southern Africa, described the situation as a “dual terror” that leaves no safe time for water collection.

Drones have targeted water points and distribution sites in daylight, forcing women to wait until nightfall. However, darkness has brought increased risks of harassment, rape, and other forms of sexual violence as they attempt to fill jerrycans. Mutavati noted that this pattern echoes atrocities previously documented in El Fasher.

The conflict, which began in April 2023 between rival militaries, has made El Obeid a strategic target due to its location on routes linking Khartoum with Darfur, the wider Kordofan region, and southern Sudan. Drone strikes have killed at least 880 civilians in the first four months of 2026, accounting for over 80% of all civilian deaths recorded by the human rights office during that period.

Meanwhile, Sudan faces a growing health crisis with cholera spreading rapidly; the World Health Organization reported 1,330 cases in early July 2026. The need for gender-based violence services has also surged, with UN Women estimating that 12.7 million women and girls require assistance nationwide, a fourfold increase since the conflict began.

This escalating humanitarian crisis underscores the severe impact of the war on civilian life, particularly on vulnerable women and girls in Sudan.

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