2.4.5. Conflict-related infrastructure damage and other war impacts

In Al Jazirah state, the RSF reportedly redirected irrigation canals, flooding 5 villages as well as farmland.904 RSF troops in Al Jazirah dispossessed farmers of their land and supplies and damaged critical irrigation system infrastructure, possibly further increasing food insecurity in the future.905 During the escalation of the conflict in Al Jazirah in October 2024, at least six health facilities were attacked, leading to essential health services being disrupted and patients being transferred to alternative health centres, of which only one in four were operational in the state as of November 2024.906 A local civilian organisation accused the RSF of destroying and looting essential infrastructure, such as a dialysis centre and the main hospital in Al-Hilaliya, in addition to water wells, grain mills, pharmacies and electrical infrastructure.907

In an October 2024 report, the UN Secretary General noted that the recent wave of clashes and the takeover of large parts of Sennar state by the RSF in early July 2024 ‘further damaged food production capacities’ in eastern Sudan, which would likely ‘accelerate the deterioration of the food security situation in other parts of the country’.908