Reports by officials have confirmed that a drone has killed forty people at a funeral gathering near El-Obeid in Sudan’s North Kordofan state.

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been blamed for the incident due to an the attack in Al-Luweib village where the UN has reported mass killings, famine and possible war crimes.

This is happening at a time when fighting across Kordofan and Darfur has escalated.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres says the situation in Sudan is getting worse and is now out of control. He is calling on the warring groups to stop fighting and agree to a ceasefire.

The UN reports that since the conflict started in April 2023, more than 150,000 people have died and 12 million have been forced to leave their homes.

A wave of drone strikes by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) struck key infrastructure in Port Sudan on Tuesday, plunging the eastern city into darkness and raising fears of further escalation in the two-year-long civil war.

The strikes mark the third consecutive day of attacks on the previously untouched city, now home to Sudan’s military-backed government.

Sudan’s national electricity provider confirmed to the BBC that the drone assault caused “a complete power outage” in Port Sudan after hitting a major power station.

Other drones targeted significant locations across the city, including the civilian section of the international airport, forcing flight cancellations, and a central army base.

A third drone struck a fuel depot near the port, and witnesses reported damage to a hotel near the residence of army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. No casualties have been reported so far.

Sudan’s Information Minister, Khalid Aleiser, visited the affected fuel depot and openly accused the United Arab Emirates of supporting the RSF with arms. The UAE denied the claim and condemned the strikes.

Once a safe haven for displaced citizens and a functioning seat for the army-aligned administration, Port Sudan had remained largely untouched since the RSF first captured Khartoum in 2023.

The latest assault suggests a strategic shift in RSF operations from ground battles to aerial attacks as the army regains control of central regions of the country.

The UN has temporarily halted humanitarian flights in and out of Port Sudan in response to the violence.

“None of our offices, premises or warehouses have been impacted, and we continue to carry out our regular operations,” said UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq.

As the RSF intensifies its campaign, hitting military airports and fuel facilities over three consecutive days, the humanitarian situation in Sudan risks deteriorating further, with hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people now facing renewed uncertainty.

United Nations and several human rights organizations are calling for an immediate end to the ongoing violence as Sudan approaches the second anniversary of its civil war.

This appeal comes as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) intensify their attacks in the Darfur region, where dozens of people have been killed in recent days.

Ahead of a high-level meeting in London on Tuesday—where delegates from multiple countries will gather to discuss ways to resolve the crisis—Human Rights Watch is urging world leaders to take swift action. The organization is calling for strong efforts to protect civilians and ensure that humanitarian aid reaches those in need without obstruction.

“For the last two years, Sudan’s warring parties have subjected the population to horrific abuses and suffering, and blocked aid, plunging the country into the world’s worst humanitarian disasters,” Mohamed Osman, Sudan researcher at Human Rights Watch, said in a statement on Monday.

“International leaders should ensure that discussions to improve the humanitarian situation go hand in hand with commitments at the highest level to protect civilians.”

This week marks two years since fighting erupted between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudanese military on April 15, 2023. The conflict has resulted in the deaths of thousands and displaced nearly 13 million people, as reported by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Additionally, the war has triggered severe hunger in some parts of Sudan.

Recently, the Sudanese army succeeded in driving RSF troops out of Khartoum, the capital. However, the RSF claims to have made gains in Darfur, an area already struggling with a worsening humanitarian crisis.

On Sunday, the RSF announced that they had seized the Zamzam camp near El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur province. According to the United Nations, the attack killed many, including 23 children and nine humanitarian workers.

The situation remains dire for those affected by the ongoing conflict.

‘Thousands of displaced trapped and cut off from aid’

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned on Monday that the fighting near el-Fasher, which has been under an RSF blockade, is hampering access to humanitarian assistance.

“Thousands of displaced people are trapped & cut off from aid,” OCHA Sudan said in a social media post.

“Hostilities must stop now. All those engaged in the conflict must ensure safe passage for civilians and humanitarian access.”

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had condemned the attacks on civilians in and around el-Fasher, urging an end to the fighting.

“The Secretary-General emphasizes that attacks directed against civilians and indiscriminate attacks are strictly prohibited under international humanitarian law,” Guterres said in a statement issued via his spokesperson on Sunday.

“Humanitarian relief personnel and medical personnel must be respected and protected. The perpetrators of these attacks must be brought to justice. Safe, unhindered and sustained access to the area, including the Zamzam camp, is urgently needed. Civilians who want to leave must be allowed to do so safely.”

In a joint statement on Monday, Egypt and Qatar also expressed “grave concerns over the ongoing armed conflict in the Sudan and emphasized the importance of an immediate cessation of military operations”.

Warring rival generals

But the violence continued on Monday. Al Jazeera Arabic quoted local sources in reporting that RSF fighters were shelling the Abu Shouk camp for displaced people outside el-Fasher.

Sudan has seen growing instability since longtime President Omar al-Bashir was removed from power in 2019 after months of antigovernment protests.

In October 2021, the Sudanese military staged a coup against the civilian government of Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, leading to his resignation in early 2022.

Sudan’s army chief, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and his rival general Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, who leads the RSF, shared power after the coup but then started fighting for control of the state and its resources in April 2023.

Davis Makori, humanitarian policy and advocacy specialist, highlighted the impact of the war on children – including psychological trauma, gender-based violence and inability to attend school – saying minors make up half of the civilians affected by the conflict.

“While there are pockets of states in Sudan that are not actually active conflict zones, this humanitarian crisis has spread to almost every facet of life,” Makori told Al Jazeera.