In El Obeid, Sudanese women face drones by day, rape by night, to reach water

Gender equality agency UN Women this week they sounded the alarm over what they called a “double terror” hitting the capital of North Kordofan.

“In El Obeid, Sudan, drone strikes during the day and sexual violence at night do not provide safe opportunities for women and girls to fetch water,” said Anna Mutavati, UN Women’s regional director for East and Southern Africa, briefing journalists in Geneva from Nairobi.

The pattern, he said, repeating the atrocities documented in El Fasher last year.

There are no safe hours

Drones have targeted water points and distribution sites during the day, encouraging women to wait until nightfall in the belief that darkness can provide protection. On the other hand, Mother Mutavati said, many were “harassed, raped and subjected to other forms of sexual violence” when trying to fill jerry cans.

Foreign-made drones flooding Sudan have pushed the war further into civilian life, putting critical infrastructure within reach.

UN Human Rights chief Volker Türk warned in May that the conflict was “on the verge of entering a new, even deadlier phase.”

Drone strikes killed at least 880 civilians in the first four months of 2026 alone – more than 80 percent of the civilian deaths recorded by the human rights office in that period.

El Obeid’s position on routes linking the capital Khartoum with Darfur, the wider Kordofan region and southern Sudan has made it a prized target since war between the rival militaries began in April 2023.

More than half a million people live there, including 83,000 internally displaced peoplemost of them were women and children.

Disease approaches

With the rainy season set to reach its peak next month, the water crisis is fueling fears of disease.

Cholera is already spreading in Sudan, with 1,330 cases reported by the World Health Organization in early July. Malnutrition, which weakens the immune system and increasingly affects women and girls, further exacerbates these risks, as does severely limited access to food and health services, especially in refugee camps.

Sexual violence has been used as a weapon during Sudan’s three-year war, with testimonies describing rape carried out in front of family members as well as brutal physical violence.

The number of women and girls requiring gender-based violence services nationally has quadrupled since the conflict began, UN Women said, and is expected to reach 12.7 million by 2026.

The lifeline is cut

Women-led organizations remain a lifeline in Sudan, reaching communities that are unable to provide protection and support.

But funding cuts have forced two-thirds of them to close or reduce safe spaces and gender-based violence services. Half of those surveyed said they expect to halt operations or close entirely within the year without urgent financial support.

Ms Mutavati reiterated UN Women’s call for an immediate ceasefire, inclusive peace talks and an end to the war.

Earlier this month, the UN Fact-Finding Mission to Sudan warned that the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces appeared to be copying tactics used in El Fasher by encircling El Obeid and attacking critical infrastructure – raising fears that the town could face mass atrocities.