More than 40 killed and others injured in an attack on a funeral gathering in Sudan

SadaNews - More than 40 people have been killed and others injured in an attack targeting a funeral gathering in the city of Al-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, which announced today, Wednesday, without specifying the perpetrator.

Areas of Kordofan have witnessed an escalation of confrontations between the Sudanese army, which controls the city, and the Rapid Support Forces, which are trying to advance after tightening their grip on the Darfur region by taking control of El Fasher last week.

Al-Obeid is a strategic point on the road connecting Khartoum and Darfur, and a vital logistics center that includes a military airport. The Rapid Support Forces recently announced their control of the town of Bara north of the city, as part of their efforts to gain full control over the Kordofan region.

The United Nations has confirmed that the security situation in Kordofan is deteriorating rapidly, while local residents reported an increasing presence of Rapid Support Vehicles and the army around Al-Obeid, amid fears of renewed confrontations.

The International Organization for Migration has also warned of the displacement of more than 36,000 civilians from towns in North Kordofan as fighting expands, while a recent UN report indicated the spread of famine in Kadugli and El Fasher, warning that more than 20 cities in Darfur and Kordofan are threatened by famine.

This escalation comes as Sudan experiences one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world, with ongoing conflict for more than two years resulting in the deaths of tens of thousands and the displacement of around 12 million people both internally and externally, amid mutual accusations between the army and the Rapid Support Forces of committing crimes against civilians.