Saturday, September 19, 2026

📍 From the Field Al Jazeera correspondent Al-Miqdad Al-Ruheid reported from the city of Damazin that drone attacks targeted fuel stations and civilian infrastructure in the city and caused at least four deaths, while the Sudanese army said it had intercepted drones coming from Ethiopia; Damazin hosts more than 45,000 displaced people who fled fighting in Blue Nile, doubling the humanitarian pressure on the city. And in South Sudan, the court of the Bentiu displacement camp — the largest camps for the internally displaced with more than 100,000 people — began its work (September 7–26) to consider cases of sexual violence, drugs and gang violence, with support from the UN Mission (UNMISS) and funding from the Norwegian Embassy in Juba; and in Juba itself, urgent sessions of the Sexual Violence Court were launched to consider 81 cases including 66 rape cases until September 29. And the International Organization for Migration warned (September 14) that the joint humanitarian relief pipeline — which has delivered aid to 2.8 million people since July 2023 — could run out of shelter and sanitation supplies by the end of September unless urgent funding arrives, and its director Amy Pope said "the entire humanitarian system could collapse within weeks."

1️⃣ Drone attack on El Obeid — Army accuses the Rapid Support Forces The Sudanese army accused the Rapid Support Forces of launching attacks with suicide drones on Saturday evening on the city of El Obeid, capital of North Kordofan State, which it said hit Al-Daman Hospital, residential neighbourhoods and service facilities, without announcing a casualty toll, and described them as a "moral defeat" for the Rapid Support Forces, which it accused of violating humanitarian law and deliberately targeting civilians. Sudan Tribune reported from eyewitnesses hearing strong explosions near the main base, with the defences of the Fifth Infantry Division intercepting at least ten drones; and similar attacks targeted military sites in Kosti in White Nile State, including the headquarters of the 18th Infantry Division. The Rapid Support Forces have not commented on the accusations so far. (Sources: Sudanese Armed Forces statement via 'Eastleigh Voice'; eyewitnesses to Sudan Tribune) 💡 Quick reading: The drone war is now striking state capitals and the heart of cities — and civilians are the first to pay the price every time.

2️⃣ Blue Nile and the East: A pre-emptive army strike and repelling an attack on the dams The Sudanese Army announced (Friday, September 18) a "planned pre-emptive" strike south of the Al-Kaili area in Blue Nile, which it said resulted in the killing of a number of Rapid Support Forces fighters and the destruction of nine combat vehicles, while local reports — including Sudan Tribune — reported that the fighting was against the alliance of the Rapid Support Forces and Abdel Aziz Al-Hilu's movement, and that the army repelled a second attack on the area on the same day. And on the eastern front, military sources announced the interception of a drone attack targeting the Atbara and Setit dam complex in Gedaref and the Khashm El Girba dam in Kassala without casualties, after Blue Nile became an active front following the alliance's control of Kurmuk and Geissan near the Ethiopian border. (Sources: Sudanese Ministry of Defence statement via Anadolu Agency; military sources) 💡 Quick reading: From hospitals to dams — the war is moving away from the battlefield and closer to the foundations of people's daily lives.

3️⃣ UN warning: Relief stocks in Sudan could run out by the end of September The International Organization for Migration warned that the joint humanitarian relief pipeline in Sudan — which supplies humanitarian organisations with emergency supplies — could run out of shelter, sanitation and household materials by the end of September without immediate funding, and its Director-General Amy Pope said "the entire humanitarian system could collapse within weeks if we do not act now." The agency needs $15 million to continue the minimum of operations and $42 million to expand assistance to one million people; and in the same context, the World Food Programme obtained only $206 million for its operations in Sudan this year compared to $645 million in 2025, according to what its Acting Executive Director Carl Skau told Reuters. (Sources: International Organization for Migration September 14; Reuters via Al Jazeera) 💡 Quick reading: Funding shortages threaten to do what the war did not — closing the relief arteries to millions in need.

— Editorial Team