Women in Sudan face impossible choice over water
Anna Mutavati, UN Women’s Regional Director, warned that due to drone strikes targeting water sources and distribution points during daylight hours, women and girls are forced to wait until after nightfall to collect water.
“Under the perception that darkness offers protection from aerial attacks, these women and girls have been harassed, raped, and subjected to other forms of sexual violence – all while trying to access water.”
The warning comes as Sudan’s conflict enters its fourth year, with drone attacks increasingly hitting civilian infrastructure.
More than half a million people live in El Obeid, including 83,000 internally displaced people, most of them women and children.
The water crisis is also heightening fears of disease as the rainy season approaches. Cholera [DJ2] is spreading and malnutrition is rising, particularly among women and girls.
Thousands of seafarers stranded in Strait of Hormuz
Thousands of seafarers remain stranded in and around the Strait of Hormuz, the UN human rights office warned on Friday.
According to the International Maritime Organization, at least 6,000 seafarers on around 400 vessels have been unable to leave the area.
Many others are unaccounted for, believed to be stuck in the Persian Gulf on a range of smaller vessels or have otherwise not been located.
Rights office spokesperson, Shabia Montoo, said at least nine ships carrying 93 crew members have been abandoned by their owners at Iranian ports, leaving crews without wages, supplies or contact with their families.
“The seafarers have been left on their ships to fend for themselves without food, water, fuel, medical care, electricity or means to communicate with their families. They face prolonged isolation and confinement in a conflict zone, with uncertainty about their safety and disembarkation – risking a severe toll on their mental and physical well-being.”
The warning comes as attacks on civilian vessels continue. Seventeen seafarers have reportedly been killed since the strikes and counterstrikes involving the US, Israel and Iran began, including five in recent weeks.
Food aid for Congolese refugees in Burundi at risk
More than 130,000 refugees in Burundi, most of them fleeing conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, DRC, could lose lifesaving food assistance within months unless urgent funding is secured, the World Food Programme (WFP) warned on Friday.
The agency said it needs $35 million to continue food and nutrition support through August 2027. Without new funding, food distributions will stop entirely from October 2026.
“For people who cannot safely return home and have few ways to support themselves, WFP food assistance is not optional, it is what keeps families alive.” Said the Acting Country Director.
Funding shortages have already forced the agency to cut rations, leaving refugee families at greater risk of hunger and malnutrition.
Many could be forced to choose between food, shelter and healthcare or resort to harmful coping strategies.
More than 100,000 people fled eastern DRC to Burundi after violence escalated in late 2025, more than doubling the number of refugees receiving WFP assistance.
Jolina Dong, UN News.
Source of original article: United Nations (news.un.org). Photo credit: UN. The content of this article does not necessarily reflect the views or opinion of Global Diaspora News (www.globaldiasporanews.com).
To submit your press release: (https://www.globaldiasporanews.com/pr).
To advertise on Global Diaspora News: (www.globaldiasporanews.com/ads).
Sign up to Global Diaspora News newsletter (https://www.globaldiasporanews.com/newsletter/) to start receiving updates and opportunities directly in your email inbox for free.
