More than 200,000 people have been forced to flee to El Obeid in the first six months of 2026, according to Save the Children, which cites official government data. The influx has added to a growing tide of internally displaced persons, with over 15,000 families arriving since mid‑July alone. Humanitarian organisations warn that the city centre and its peripheral camps are now overwhelmed, with dire shortages of food, water and shelter. The situation is very harsh and is deteriorating as El Obeid is receiving IDPs [internally displaced people] on a daily basis … The city is shockingly overcrowded,” said Maryam, a humanitarian volunteer whose name has been changed for her safety. The rapid displacement is straining a health programme that is already struggling to cope.
Mass Exodus to El Obeid
Save the Children says more than 200,000 people have fled to El Obeid in the first half of the year, a figure that includes the 15,000 families who arrived after mid‑July. The influx has pushed the city’s population well beyond its pre‑war level of about 500,000, creating a humanitarian pressure that is difficult to quantify. Daily arrivals continue, with families often walking for days, carrying only the barest belongings. The situation is very harsh and is deteriorating as El Obeid is receiving IDPs [internally displaced people] on a daily basis … The city is shockingly overcrowded,” said Maryam, a humanitarian volunteer whose name has been changed for her safety.
Many of the new arrivals have been taken in by host families, but tens of thousands remain in two main tented camps on the city’s outskirts. Satellite analysis by the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab shows that 800 new tents appeared in one camp between 4 and 25 August, reflecting the speed of the displacement. During my visit, I saw 450 arrivals coming from the surrounding villages just that morning,” said Paul Byars, the Sudan country director for the Danish Refugee Council, who was in El Obeid last week.
The city is shockingly overcrowded.
Escalating Violence and Humanitarian Toll
The United Nations has warned that El Obeid could face a repeat of the El Fasher massacre, where more than 10,000 people were killed by the RSF in October 2025 after an 18‑month siege. A surge in RSF drone strikes in June raised fears of a similar bloodbath, though the frequency of attacks has since eased after government forces recaptured a key road north toward Khartoum in late July. Nevertheless, “It is hard, so hard, living with this, hearing the sound of a drone hitting somewhere,” Maryam said. “It’s very disturbing.” She added that rescuers are often targeted by “double‑tap” strikes that follow the initial impact.
Drones now account for roughly half of all violent incidents in Sudan, up from just 4 % at the war’s outset, according to Nohad Eltayeb of the ACLED monitoring group. So far this year, 322 civilian‑impacting incidents have been recorded in the wider Kordofan region, compared with 388 throughout 2025, with the RSF responsible for about half of those and the Sudanese Armed Forces also causing civilian casualties.
On 10 August, armed forces and an allied militia killed five civilians and injured ten about 60 miles north‑east of El Obeid, according to Emergency Lawyers.
Infrastructure Collapse and Survival Challenges
The city’s water and electricity systems are on the brink of collapse after RSF drone strikes in June damaged a major water source in the north and disrupted supply lines across the city centre. “The main problem is the big [water] source that is in the north of the city has been severely damaged and it has not been repaired,” said Esperanza Santos, an emergency coordinator for Médecins Sans Frontières. “The water pipes in the city have [also] been impacted. So mostly, both in the city – for example, in the hospital – and also in the IDP camps, they are relying on water trucking and it’s not enough.”
Conditions in the camps are equally grim. “In terms of sanitation, it’s very, very bad. It’s not enough. The ratio of latrines per person is impossible – there are more than 100 people for a latrine. So basically there is open defecation,” Santos added.
Food prices have surged dramatically. In north Kordofan in July, a litre of groundnut oil cost 17,000 Sudanese pounds (£21), up from 13,000 in June and 7,700 a year earlier, while wheat flour and goat and sheep meat have more than doubled in price over the past year, according to the World Food Programme.
Despite the hardship, local volunteers remain determined to organise aid amid constant drone threats. “We are living with this and we hope things will become better,” Maryam said, underscoring the resilience of those who continue to assist amid constant danger.
Why it Matters
Why it Matters: The relentless flow of civilians into El Obeid, coupled with a breakdown of basic services and a surge in lethal drone attacks, threatens to deepen one of the world’s most acute humanitarian emergencies. With more than a quarter of Sudan’s population now displaced and famine looming in the Kordofan corridor, the crisis could trigger a regional spill‑over, overwhelming neighbouring states and undermining international stability. The dwindling resources for aid agencies, highlighted by soaring food prices and insufficient water supplies, jeopardise the ability to deliver life‑saving assistance to those who need it most. As the world watches, the convergence of displacement, violence and economic collapse in El Obeid underscores the urgent need for a coordinated global response.