WFP Warns El Obeid Becoming New Epicenter of Sudan Displacement and Hunger Crisis With Over 100000 Displaced Sheltering in City Under Siege

WFP Sudan Country Director Abdallah Alwardat told reporters in Geneva on Friday that El Obeid, a city of roughly 500,000 to 600,000 people, has nearly doubled in population as internally displaced persons arrive from North Kordofan, South Kordofan, West Kordofan and Darfur 12. More than 120,000 displaced people are living in formal camps, with many more staying with host families or in makeshift shelters 12; WFP is feeding more than 100,000 of them but is distributing reduced rations that recipients are sharing with unassisted neighbors 34. Alwardat said food, water and fuel remain in short supply, that fuel shortages have forced WFP to use its own truck fleet after partners could not reach distribution points, and that the agency is prepositioning stock to scale assistance to over 250,000 people if conditions permit 123. Nearly 20 million people in Sudan are classified as acutely food insecure, and WFP has distributed July rations while preparing for August 234.