UN, Mar 7: Fighting between rival forces in Sudan has intensified in recent days, with reports of a drone strike on a hospital and increasing risks to civilians and humanitarian operations, according to updates shared by the United Nations.
Clashes between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces have escalated in South Kordofan. A drone strike reportedly hit a hospital in the town of Dilling, killing at least four patients and injuring several.Violence has also spread to North Kordofan, where repeated drone attacks have been reported in El Obeid over the past several days.
The UN warned that the continued fighting is restricting humanitarian access and threatening essential infrastructure. Aid agencies are particularly concerned about the safety of the road connecting Kosti and El Obeid, a key route used for transporting humanitarian assistance as well as commercial goods.
The UN has urged all sides involved in the conflict to respect international humanitarian law, safeguard civilians and civilian facilities, and allow uninterrupted humanitarian access.Separately, the UN human rights office has warned that economic inequality around the world is deepening. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said a significant share of global wealth growth in the past two decades has gone to the richest one percent, while the poorest half of the population has seen minimal gains.
He also noted that more than half of the world’s workers are employed in informal jobs without adequate labour protections, with women disproportionately represented in this sector. According to Türk, rising inequality and lack of social protection are contributing to exploitation, forced labour, and human trafficking.The UN has called for structural reforms, including stronger social protection systems, debt relief measures, and broader approaches to measuring development that go beyond economic growth alone.
In global health developments, progress in HIV treatment has significantly reduced AIDS-related deaths over the past two decades. Health officials say wider access to effective treatment has played a major role in the decline.A new preventive medicine, lenacapavir, has recently been approved for HIV prevention. The drug is administered once every six months and has shown strong effectiveness in preventing infection among people at high risk.
Global health agencies are supporting its introduction in several African countries.Meanwhile, UN experts have warned about the increasing destruction of housing during conflicts, a trend referred to as “domicide.” The phenomenon involves large-scale destruction of homes and residential areas during warfare.Experts say such damage has been documented in several conflict zones, including parts of the Middle East, Africa and Eastern Europe.
Concerns have also been raised about the growing use of artificial intelligence in military targeting, which could increase the scale and speed of such destruction.In a separate assessment related to Central America, a UN investigator also reported cases of forced evictions affecting Indigenous and rural communities, often linked to land development projects and weak legal protections for affected populations.
