Thousands displaced by attacks in Sudan’s Kordofan amid cholera outbreak

July 7, 2025 (EL-OBEID) – Tens of thousands of people have fled their homes to El-Obeid, the capital of Sudan’s North Kordofan state, after attacks by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a state official said, as the city also battles a deadly cholera outbreak.

Mohamed Ismail, the state’s Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid, said more than 600 displaced families, or about 30,000 people, had arrived in El-Obeid from villages north of the town of Bara.

“The influx is due to RSF attacks on these villages, which Ismail described as civilian areas with no military presence,” he said.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said last week that 3,260 families had been displaced from at least 12 villages in the Bara area alone. Local sources reported that the entire population of the village of Um Zein had fled to El-Obeid on foot, accompanied by their animals.

The attacks are part of an attempt by the RSF to tighten a siege on El-Obeid, a major army garrison. The RSF, which has been fighting the army for control of the country since 2023, controls several surrounding towns and rural areas.

A growing health emergency compounds the displacement crisis. Ismail, the humanitarian commissioner, warned that cholera was spreading, with more than 80 cases and four deaths recorded in El-Obeid.

He said RSF restrictions on movement were preventing health teams from reaching affected villages outside the capital to contain the disease. The commissioner called for humanitarian organizations to be granted access to RSF-controlled areas.