In a recent assessment in the town of Um Baro, UNICEF screened 500 children and found that more than half were suffering from acute malnutrition.

Even more troubling, one in every six children was found to be severely malnourished, a life threatening condition that can lead to death within weeks if left untreated.

UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell said the situation leaves no room for delay. ‘When malnutrition reaches this level, time becomes the most precious resource,’ she said. ‘Children in Um Baro are fighting for their lives. Every day without safe access makes them weaker and increases the risk of deaths that could have been prevented.’

The crisis has worsened after large waves of displaced families arrived in Um Baro from El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, following intense fighting in late October. According to estimates, more than 100,000 people fled El Fasher, a city already on the edge of famine.

Many displaced families reported grave human rights abuses, including killings, sexual violence, and unlawful detention, allegedly carried out by fighters from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The RSF has not issued an immediate response to these claims.

On Friday, a UN humanitarian mission was allowed into El Fasher for the first time in two years. UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator Denise Brown described the city as almost deserted, saying it felt ‘like a crime scene.’

Few people were visible, and those who remained were sheltering in empty buildings or makeshift camps made of plastic sheets.

Brown also expressed deep concern for the wounded and those possibly held in detention, warning that many may be beyond the reach of medical care.

Meanwhile, the RSF has continued to expand its control across Darfur and is now pushing east into Kordofan, where the cities of Kadugli and Dilling are under siege.

This advance has tightened the grip of hunger and pushed the humanitarian crisis even further.

UN officials say fighting has intensified with the start of the dry season. Briefing the Security Council, UN Assistant Secretary General Mohamed Khaled Khiari said that each passing day brings more violence, more destruction, and unbearable suffering for civilians, with no clear end in sight.

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has renewed calls for an immediate ceasefire. Sudan’s Prime Minister Kamil Idris presented a peace plan at the Security Council that included the disarmament of the RSF, but the group rejected the proposal.

Army chief General Abdel Fattah al Burhan has insisted that no political solution is possible unless the RSF lays down its weapons.

The civil war, which began in 2023, has already killed tens of thousands, displaced over 12 million people, and pushed large parts of Sudan into famine. The United Nations has described the crisis as the worst humanitarian emergency in the world today.