The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan published a report on the city of El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state.
The report is titled Sudan's Unrelenting War: Civilian Devastation and Deepening Insecurity in El Obeid.
The Mission was appointed by the UN Human Rights Council and is chaired by Mohamed Chande Othman, with Mona Rishmawi and Joy Ngozi Ezeilo as expert members.
It found El Obeid Central Prison holding about 2,000 people against a capacity of about 450.
Only about 30 per cent of the city's hospitals were still working.
The Mission recorded that October had the highest number of drone attacks on civilians since the war began in April 2023.
It also examined strikes near the Sudan-Egypt border and a drone attack on a market in Abyei.
Expert member Joy Ngozi Ezeilo repeated the Mission's call to widen the UN arms embargo, now limited to Darfur, to all of Sudan.
El Obeid Central Prison occupancy:about 2,000 against a capacity of about 450Hospitals still working:about 30 per cent
Why it matters for exams: It names the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan, the body that appointed it (the UN Human Rights Council) and its chair, and fixes El Obeid as the capital of North Kordofan.
Fact-Finding MissionIndependent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan — An investigative body appointed by the UN Human Rights Council to examine violations in Sudan's war.
The World Health Organization set out the state of Sudan's health system alongside a food-security alert on the country.
WHO said it has verified 228 attacks on health care in Sudan since 15 April 2023, with 2,055 deaths and 817 injuries.
By 2026, 37 per cent of the country's health facilities had stopped functioning.
WHO supports all 161 nutrition stabilisation centres operating in Sudan this year.
Between January and August 2026 more than 26,000 children with severe acute malnutrition and medical complications were treated.
Only 23 per cent of WHO's humanitarian appeal for Sudan, which seeks US$ 97.7 million, has been funded.
WHO asked for hostilities to end and for food, water and health systems to be protected.
Verified attacks on health care:228Deaths in those attacks:2,055WHO appeal for Sudan:US$ 97.7 million, 23 per cent fundedNutrition stabilisation centres:161
Why it matters for exams: It names WHO as the UN health agency keeping the verified count of attacks on health care, and gives Sudan's figure of 228 attacks with 2,055 deaths.
The UN Development Programme (UNDP) and Sudan's Ministry of Finance held a three-day dialogue in Khartoum on bringing private investment back into farming.
A roadmap for recovery and the prospect of about US$ 155 million in external investment were among its outcomes.
More than 300 participants from 20 countries registered, including government officials, banks, farmers' and trade associations and private companies.
Arvind Kumar, who leads recovery and resilience work at UNDP's Sudan office, said the private sector provides about 98 per cent of jobs in the country.
Crop yields have fallen by 40 to 70 per cent in some cases over the past two years, while the cost of fertiliser and fuel has risen.
Before the war Sudan exported gum arabic, sesame, cotton, hibiscus, sorghum and livestock.
Sudan's share of the global sesame market has fallen from 12 to 13 per cent to about six per cent.
More than 19 million people in Sudan face hunger and nearly 35 million need humanitarian assistance.
Possible external investment:about US$ 155 millionParticipants registered:more than 300 from 20 countriesShare of global sesame market:down from 12 to 13 per cent to about six per cent
Why it matters for exams: It names UNDP as the UN's development agency, and fixes gum arabic and sesame as Sudan's signature agricultural exports.
The Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan released a new report on the city of El Obeid. It found that RSF drone strikes there keep killing civilians and wrecking homes, schools and water and power systems, and may amount to war crimes. Expert member Mona Rishmawi said thousands have been held and tortured by SAF security cells, including in El Obeid Central Prison. Accounts gathered by the Mission put some 2,000 people in the prison, which has room for about 450, and say only around 30 per cent of hospitals in the city still work. The report came after the Mission presented its findings on outside support for the warring parties to the Third Committee of the General Assembly. Expert Joy Ngozi Ezeilo repeated the call to widen the arms embargo, now limited to Darfur, to all of Sudan.
People held in El Obeid Central Prison (some):2,000Prison capacity (about):450Hospitals still operating (per cent):30
Why it matters for exams: The UN Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan, the Human Rights Council that created it, the Third Committee of the General Assembly and the Darfur arms embargo are recurring UN and human-rights questions.
Fact-Finding MissionIndependent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan — A panel of independent experts set up by the UN Human Rights Council to investigate abuses in the war in Sudan.
SAFSudanese Armed Forces — The national army of Sudan, at war with the RSF since April 2023.
RSFRapid Support Forces — The paramilitary force fighting the Sudanese army.
Third CommitteeThird Committee of the UN General Assembly — The General Assembly committee that deals with social, humanitarian and human-rights issues.
Nearly two dozen countries met in Geneva to explore a path to a ceasefire in Sudan and an inclusive political transition. The talks are officially called the Consultative Meetings on Enhancing Coordination of Peace Initiatives and Efforts in Sudan, and Switzerland co-hosted this round with the UN. Pekka Haavisto, Personal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Sudan, opened with a session on de-escalation. Earlier rounds were held in Cairo, Djibouti, Nouakchott and Brussels. Neither the Sudanese Government nor the RSF attends, since the forum exists for mediators to coordinate. Alexandre Fasel, State Secretary of Switzerland, called it a drone war that kills mostly civilians, and cited an estimate by OCHA that almost 34 million people need aid. Haavisto was also to meet the Quintet and the Quad, a group made up of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and the United States.
People needing humanitarian support (almost, million):34
Why it matters for exams: Who mediates in Sudan, the UN envoy, the Quad and where the peace talks meet are likely world-affairs questions while the war continues.
Personal EnvoyPersonal Envoy of the Secretary-General for Sudan — The special representative of the UN Secretary-General who leads UN mediation on Sudan.
QuadQuad mechanism on Sudan — A group of the United States, Saudi Arabia, the UAE and Egypt working on the Sudan war.
QuintetQuintet mechanism — The African Union, IGAD, the UN, the European Union and the League of Arab States acting together on Sudan.
OCHAUN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs — The UN office that coordinates emergency aid.
The UN Security Council unanimously adopted Resolution 2830, extending the Sudan sanctions regime until December 11 so that talks on its future can go on. The panel of experts that watches over the sanctions now has a mandate running to January 11, 2027. The regime was last renewed for one month on September 11, and this text was described as a short technical rollover. The sanctions were first imposed in 2005 under Resolution 1591. The measures are a Darfur arms embargo, plus a travel ban and an asset freeze on designated individuals and entities, all watched by a five-member panel of experts. A United States proposal to extend the embargo to all of Sudan did not get through, as Russia and China backed keeping the existing regime. The war between the army and the RSF began in April 2023.
Resolution number:2830Original sanctions resolution:1591Year sanctions first imposed:2005
Why it matters for exams: UN sanctions regimes, the Resolution 1591 Darfur arms embargo and how the Security Council votes are core UN and world-affairs questions.
The war across Darfur and Kordofan has put Sudan's ancient sites at risk, and these are the sites in question. UNESCO has recorded concern over looting and damage at Sudanese museums, heritage institutions and archaeological sites. It has asked the public and the art market not to acquire, import or export Sudanese cultural property, and not to take part in transferring its ownership. Sudan's two properties on the World Heritage List are Gebel Barkal with the Napatan region sites, and the archaeological sites on the island of Meroe. Both belong to the Kingdom of Kush, the Nubian power that once ruled Egypt as well. UNESCO said looting or theft was reported at the National Museum of Sudan in Khartoum, Khalifa House and the Nyala museum. Emergency work at the Kerma, Gebel Barkal, Red Sea, El Damer and Sennar museums has inventoried and digitised more than 1,700 objects. Satellite images are being used to assess damage, and a centre at Port Sudan supports displaced cultural workers.
Objects inventoried and digitised:more than 1,700World Heritage properties named:Gebel Barkal and the Napatan Region; the Island of Meroe
Why it matters for exams: It fixes Sudan's two Kushite World Heritage properties - Gebel Barkal and the Napatan Region, and the Island of Meroe - and UNESCO as the body that inscribes them.
The Quintet that the UN envoy for Sudan meets includes IGAD, and this is what that body is.
IGAD is the Intergovernmental Authority on Development, the regional organisation of the Horn of Africa and eastern Africa, of which Sudan is a member.
The IGAD region comprises Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan and Uganda.
The IGAD region covers about 5.2 million square kilometres.
It has roughly 6,960 kilometres of coastline along the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Aden, the Gulf of Tadjoura and the Red Sea, and about 6,910 kilometres of international borders with Egypt, Libya, Chad, the Central African Republic, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Rwanda and Tanzania.
About 70 per cent of the region is arid and semi-arid land receiving less than 600 millimetres of rain.
The IGAD Secretariat is in Djibouti city, and Dr Workneh Gebeyehu is its Executive Secretary.
Area of the IGAD region:5.2 million km2Coastline:about 6960 kmSecretariat:Djibouti
Why it matters for exams: It fixes what IGAD stands for, the countries of the IGAD region including Sudan, and the location of its Secretariat in Djibouti.