At least 40 civilians were killed and dozens injured on Wednesday in Sudan, after an attack by the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (FAR) on a funeral in the city of Al Obeid, capital of North Kordofan state.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) indicated in its daily report that, according to local sources, the security situation in the region is deteriorating. “Once again, OCHA calls for the immediate cessation of hostilities,” the body said.

The UN urged all parties to the conflict to protect civilians, respect international humanitarian law and ensure the safe passage of relief personnel and supplies to deal with the emergency.

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Sudan’s resistance committees, local community networks, reported on Monday that the attack occurred in the Jor Taqat area, on the eastern outskirts of Al Obeid, where paramilitaries directly attacked a mourning tent.

The FAR warned civilians in recent days to stay away from military installations in the face of “the imminent release of Al Obeid”. The capture of this strategic city would allow them to control the roads leading to the capital, Khartoum.

In and around al-Obeid, tens of thousands of displaced people who have fled violence unleashed by the FAR in other towns in North Kordofan are concentrated.

At the same time, the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warned that the nutritional situation in North Darfur is critical. Recent studies show that 14.6% of children under five years of age suffer from severe acute malnutrition and an alarming 45% suffer from acute malnutrition.

The war in Sudan, which began in April 2023, has caused tens of thousands of deaths and forced more than thirteen million people to flee their homes, making the country the epicenter of the worst humanitarian crisis on the planet

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