Sudan: Children facing threat of drones overhead as school classes disrupted in El Obeid

“I visited a school where teachers told me they are being forced to regularly suspend lessons as a result of drones flying overhead,” Saraf said. “It is an outrage that children should experience such things when simply trying to get education: they should not have to be brave just to attend school.”  

NRC-supported learning centres in El Obeid have enrolled more than 5,500 pupils, with many other families still trying to enrol their children. NRC works with its partner, the Alsalam Organisation for Rehabilitation and Development (AORD), to help children catch up on missed learning and cope with fear and stress. 

Drones have repeatedly struck civilian sites in El Obeid in recent weeks, including a university dormitory, a shelter for displaced families, and warehouses in Sheikan locality holding more than 330,000 textbooks. El Obeid is home to more than half a million people, including tens of thousands displaced by fighting elsewhere in Kordofan and Sudan. 

“The places where people sleep have been hit from the air, and so have the books children need to learn,” Saraf said. “Each attack leaves families wondering what will be hit next. Families who have already lost their homes are also facing rising prices and struggling to find enough clean water, safe sanitation and adequate shelter.” 

“Children are willing, teachers are willing, parents are willing. What they are missing is the certainty that a school day can simply be a school day, without listening for drones or wondering when lessons might have to stop,” Saraf said. 

NRC also supports a girls’ school in El Obeid, where about 1,200 students are enrolled, and just three classrooms are available for use. “Entering one of the classrooms meant trying not to step on one another,” Saraf said. NRC has built two more classrooms and toilets, provided learning materials, and trained teachers to support children affected by conflict. “Standing there, I could see that it was not enough,” he said. 

In response to the growing needs in El Obeid, NRC has provided cash assistance to 4,000 households and distributed 3,000 kits containing hygiene and shelter items, including blankets, plastic sheeting, sleeping mats, jerrycans and solar lamps. NRC will also support community initiatives, building on the efforts of people who are already responding to needs within their communities. NRC’s 12-month response plan for El Obeid seeks $7.1 million to reach 107,000 people, and 65 per cent of that is still unfunded.  

“Attacks on civilians and the infrastructure they rely upon are prohibited under international humanitarian law,” Saraf said. “The parties to this war must protect schools, homes, shelters and markets, and keep military assets away from civilian areas. Donors must fund water, shelter and education now, so that displaced and host families in El Obeid have somewhere to turn.” 

Notes to editors 

• Shashwat Saraf is available for interviews. 
• Photos from El Obeid can be downloaded for free use and distribution here.
• NRC has worked in El Obeid since 2025. In addition to its education programme, NRC is registering thousands of displaced families for cash assistance and preparing to scale up water and sanitation support.  
• UNICEF reporting on the recent attacks referenced in this release is available here: strike on shelter; strikes on warehouses.
• Sudan Tribune reported on the drone strike on student accommodation at the University of Kordofan here. 
• IOM recorded 51,755 people displaced from elsewhere in Kordofan into Sheikan locality as of 1 September 2026. 

For more information or to arrange an interview, please contact: 

• NRC global media hotline: media@nrc.no, +47 905 62 329