Thursday, September 17, 2026

📍 From the Field

In the vicinity of the "Al-Zar'a" mine near the city of Al-Nuhud in West Kordofan, survivors and residents of the area continue digging with primitive tools in search of people trapped under the rubble, amid the absence of specialised rescue teams. Survivor Khair Al-Sayed Jubara told the Associated Press: "We do not have the necessary machinery to lift the soil and stones and search for survivors at depths exceeding thirty metres." Survivor Amin Suleiman explained to Agence France-Presse that the wells were dug close to one another, so the collapse of one of them caused the collapse of those adjacent to it. For his part, Suleiman Abu Humaida, a member of the emergency rooms, told the same agency that rescue teams had recovered 82 bodies by Wednesday afternoon, while dozens of people are still missing, and the Kordofan Observatory pointed out that the site extends over fragile sandy soil that makes search operations more difficult.

In the town of Tawila in North Darfur, where hundreds of thousands who fled fighting in El Fasher are gathered, the Acting Executive Director of the World Food Programme, Carl Skau, described what he saw during his recent visit as an "endless expanse of grass huts," pointing out that the programme can only provide half the food rations to the displaced. Skau said it took him three days to travel by car from El Obeid to El Fasher, a journey that used to take only six hours. In the health context, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) launched a ten-day cholera vaccination campaign in Tawila with support from the World Health Organization, targeting the protection of about 95,000 displaced people, at a time when about 2,900 cholera infections and 247 deaths were recorded in six states since the outbreak was declared in June.

And in Blue Nile, the International Organization for Migration reported that more than 3,300 people were displaced on Monday from several villages in the Geissan area, while about 1,300 people fled last week from villages in Umm Baro locality in North Darfur due to the deterioration of the security situation, and some of them took refuge in Chad. The OCHA office reported that drone raids at the weekend displaced thousands of people in Blue Nile, North Darfur and West Darfur states, amid reports of civilian casualties, while the city of El Obeid in North Kordofan remains besieged and its displacement camps exceed their capacity.

1️⃣ "Al-Zar'a": At least 82 killed in the collapse of a gold mine in West Kordofan and search operations continue

The toll of the collapse of the "Al-Zar'a" gold mine near the city of Al-Nuhud in West Kordofan State rose to at least 82 killed, according to what the Associated Press reported from emergency rooms and a local administration official, with the search continuing for dozens missing under the rubble. The Sudan Doctors Network said the number of victims is likely to rise, describing the mine as an informal site lacking the most basic safety measures. The collapse began in one of the wells at the start of the week and then extended to the wells connected to it, and rescue operations are hindered by depths exceeding thirty metres and the absence of heavy equipment, as only one forklift owned by an individual is available. (Sources: Associated Press, Agence France-Presse, Reuters, Xinhua) 💡 Quick reading: The Al-Zar'a disaster reveals once again that artisanal mining, which supports more than one and a half million workers in Sudan, operates without any safety oversight in areas of armed conflict.

2️⃣ Salva Kiir dismisses the head of the Elections Commission three months before the first national ballot

South Sudan's President Salva Kiir announced on Tuesday evening the dismissal of Abednego Akok Kacuol from the chairmanship of the National Elections Commission, and appointed in his place the Commission's Secretary-General Gabriel Bol Deng Majok, without giving public reasons for the change. The decision comes about three months before the presidential and parliamentary elections scheduled for December 22, the first since the country's independence in 2011. Edmond Yakani, Executive Director of the Community Empowerment for Progress Organization, told Reuters: "Dismissing the head of an electoral commission three months before elections is a disaster," while political analyst Abraham Kuol Nyuon described the step as a "delaying tactic," warning that the new leadership will need time to familiarise itself with its tasks including voter registration. The UN Commission on Human Rights in South Sudan had warned last week of the absence of the necessary guarantees for peaceful and credible elections. (Sources: Reuters, Associated Press) 💡 Quick reading: Changing the head of the commission at this critical time feeds doubts about Juba's seriousness regarding elections long delayed since independence, and may provide a new pretext for further delay.

3️⃣ UN agencies warn: The humanitarian system in Sudan "could collapse"

UN agencies warned that the humanitarian system in Sudan "could collapse," and that emergency relief supplies of shelter, hygiene and household materials will run out by the end of September unless new funding is available. The Acting Executive Director of the World Food Programme, Carl Skau, said funding this year is half last year's level, while about 20 million people face hunger in what the programme describes as the world's largest hunger crisis. The Director of the International Organization for Migration, Amy Pope, said: "We cannot turn our backs on the people of Sudan," pointing out that current stocks will close without additional funding by December. The programme currently reaches between four and five million people monthly in Sudan with food and cash assistance. (Sources: UN News, OCHA Office, World Food Programme, International Organization for Migration) 💡 Quick reading: The warning comes days before the UN General Assembly meetings in New York, making the Sudan funding file an early test of the international community's seriousness.

— Editorial Team