Sudan, Somalia & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (22 October 2026) | United Nations

Noon Briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General. Highlights: - Secretary-General/Press Encounter - Secretary-General/Trip Announcement - Deputy Secretary-General/Trip Announcement - Sudan - Somalia - Yemen - Occupied Palestinian Territory - Lebanon - Ukraine - Afghanistan SUDAN The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) today said that air and drone strikes reportedly caused civilian casualties across several parts of Sudan. In North Darfur State, an air strike reportedly killed five civilians, including two people who were working with a community-led initiative known as the Emergency Response Rooms. That took place in Tina locality on Tuesday. Many other people were reportedly injured. Further civilian casualties were also reported following air and drone strikes in West and South Kordofan. The UN condemns the killing of civilians and stressed that civilians and humanitarian personnel, as well as civilian infrastructure must always be protected and never target. And that is in accordance with humanitarian international humanitarian law. Hostilities are also reportedly driving up the price of fuel in parts of Kordofan and Darfur, increases that are expected to push commodity prices higher and make essential goods even less affordable for the most vulnerable families. The UN and its humanitarian partners are preparing to scale up life-saving assistance in the most impacted areas of Darfur and Kordofan over the next six months. However, as we have been saying here repeatedly, the severe funding shortages hamper our ability to respond to the growing needs. The UN calls on donors to provide the resources needed to sustain and scale up the response, and on the parties to the conflict to allow us to deliver that aid. SOMALIA The International Organization for Migration (IOM) warns that nearly 874,000 human beings could be forced from their homes over the next three months in Somalia. This is due to rising rivers and heavy rainfall that threaten communities already struggling with drought and repeated displacement. The Danish Refugee Council and the IOM project that flooding will account for 92 per cent of the displacement, as Somalia enters a rainy season forecast to bring above-normal rainfall amid strengthening El Niño conditions. IOM is working with Somali authorities to strengthen the early warning systems and prepare emergency assistance, but right now, they have only secured 14 per cent of the $16.6 million needed to prepare for and respond to El Niño-related events. Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-10-22


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