Impact
More than two years into the conflict, Sudan’s humanitarian situation continues to deteriorate, with over 11 million people displaced – the largest in the world. The extensive use of explosive devices in the conflict is adding new layers of explosive ordnance (EO) contamination to the 34 square kilometers of explosive hazards that existed from previous conflicts. The expanded EO contamination exacerbates the already catastrophic humanitarian crisis by not only killing and maiming civilians but also restricting free movement, safe access to essential services, infrastructure, and livelihood opportunities. Humanitarians are facing the threat of EO in many areas repeatedly subjected to armed conflicts, hindering the safe delivery of aid relief to millions of people in desperate need.
Since the onset of the ongoing crisis, UNMAS has expanded its emergency response to address the increasing needs for mine action support. Since 15 April 2023 , UNMAS has reached 246,474 at-risk people (64,395 girls, 57,625 boys, 64,404 women, and 60,050 men) with lifesaving EO Risk Education (EORE) messages designed to instil safe behaviour amongst affected communities, delivered EO awareness briefings to 1,540 (369 women, 1,171 men) aid workers, and provided technical advice on EO safety in response to requests from various humanitarian actors, enabling and facilitating their humanitarian access while ensuring their safety. Capturing and analysing the conflict data, UNMAS is producing EO contamination maps and recommendations for each state and distributing them on a monthly basis to the aid community to support their response planning. UNMAS began preparing for the resumption of survey and clearance operations soon to be deployed.
UNMAS continues to lead the Mine Action Area of Responsibility together with co-lead, NADA Elazhar. Ten partners, both national and international organizations, come together to strengthen the sector response by scaling up advocacy and coordination efforts.
Since 15 April 2023, UNMAS Sudan reached
246,474 people with life-saving emergency EORE
64,395 Girls | 57,625 Boys | 64,404 Women | 60,050 Men
1,540 aid workers With EO awareness briefings, technical With life-saving emergency EORE advice, contamination maps, and more
369 Women | 1,171 Men
About
UNMAS has been active in Sudan since 2002, playing a key advisory role in strengthening Sudan's institutional capacity to provide humanitarian mine action for the people of Sudan and supporting Sudan’s obligations under Article 5 of the Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention (Ottawa Treaty). UNMAS mobilizes resources, supports land release, EORE, victim assistance, and information management, in coordination with the National Mine Action Center and ensures mine action activities support humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding needs.
Since January, UNMAS has supported the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan (UNITAMS), and following its drawdown in February 2024, has continued mine action support at the request of the Government of Sudan.
Activities
1. Technical Advisory on Explosive Hazards: Mine Action Advisory Support provides analysis and advice on explosive threats and risk awareness to aid workers, joining humanitarian assessment missions to ensure access and safety of humanitarian operators. In April 2025, UNMAS and UNDSS conducted a critical security assessment mission in Central Khartoum, assessing explosive hazards for potential returns. EO contamination was found in every facility assessed, with evidence of mortars, artillery and other abandoned EO. Assessment and clearance from accredited mine action teams is essential to enable safe return to Khartoum.
2. Explosive Ordnance Risk Education (EORE): UNMAS, with implementing partner Danish Refugee Council (DRC) and JASMAR, delivered emergency EORE at key waypoints to help communities identify and avoid EO threats. Teams have delivered gender/age-tailored EORE sessions to at-risk populations in Al Jazirah and Khartoum state, with a focus on returnees. To the left, in Umdurman in March 2025, a young boy pointed to a picture of an item of explosive ordnance, saying he saw it near his house, during an EORE session. Deminers accompanied the boy, verifying fortunately no presence of such explosive hazard. Other cases wherein an EORE beneficiary informed the team of a potential explosive hazard have led to successful identification and removal of explosive hazards. To maximize reach, especially in hard-to-reach areas, indirect risk education was also expanded through media, integration in aid distribution channels and the training of trainers to community leaders and community-based organizations.
3. Survey and Clearance: As conflict-affected areas become accessible, survey and clearance of explosive hazards are urgently needed to ensure safe movement, humanitarian access and support recovery. With new funding, two accredited teams will deploy to priority areas such as Khartoum State and Al Jazirah State during Q2 2025.
4. Technical Advisory on Explosive Hazards: Mine Action Advisory Support provides analysis and advice on explosive threats and risk awareness to aid workers, joining humanitarian assessment missions to ensure access and safety of humanitarian operators. In April 2025, UNMAS and UNDSS conducted a critical security assessment mission in Central Khartoum, assessing explosive hazards for potential returns. EO contamination was found in every facility assessed, with evidence of mortars, artillery and other abandoned EO. Assessment and clearance from accredited mine action teams is essential to enable safe return to Khartoum.
5. Coordination: Mine action coordination enables information sharing and partner requests, supporting a principled and prioritized response. Recently, partners contributed to the reprioritized 2025 Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan, and mine action was integrated into the Essential Humanitarian Package, Wad Madani and Khartoum Operational Response Plans.
6. Information Management: Systematic data collection and mapping of EO hazards are key to supporting the safety and planning of humanitarian operations. This quarter, three updated contamination maps and trend analyses were published.
Funding
UNMAS thanks the following donors for their generous support through the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for assisting Mine Action in Sudan during the year 2025:
The Government of Japan, the Foreign Commonwealth & Development Office, the Central Emergency Response Fund and the Government of Canada. UNMAS also thanks the United Nations Trust Fund for Human Security for its contribution to an inter-agency programme in South Kordofan and to the Government of Switzerland for the provision of in-kind personnel.
To respond to the increasing mine action needs, the Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan shows a reprioritized funding need of $10.8 million for Mine Action in 2025 to help 2.9 million target beneficiaries in need and ensure continued delivery of mine action in Sudan.
Case Study
Tagwa (not her real name), a 35-year-old woman, lived in Khartoum where bombings were common. On July 15, 2023, an explosion occurred near her home, causing widespread panic and destruction. The noise was deafening, leaving many in the community traumatized. The sound of the explosion shocked Tagwa causing her to experience acute distress. She reported feeling paralyzed with fear, unable to comprehend the events unfolding around her. In the days following the explosion, Tagwa exhibited several symptoms of trauma, including increased anxiety, as she became excessively worried about her safety and the safety of her family. Furthermore, she started avoiding social interactions, fearing that another explosion could occur.
“I was living in Khartoum where the war was extreme, destroying everything. One day, an ammunition or EO hit next to my house, causing a strong and huge explosion sound. I had just given birth to my boy, who had twenty something days at that time. I really panicked, and felt like that was the end, that I will be the next and will die soon. The sound was horrible, my house was shaking and cracking, I thought it will collapse on me and my family. My husband started looking for another place to go […]. We moved to the Omdurman-Al Thawura area, but the situation was the same, bombing every day, sound of explosion and shooting. My situation did not improve, I started suffering from uncontrolled fear, tension, anxiety and almost became in a shock when I remembered the sound of the explosion. Then my husband decided to relocate me and my baby to another state where the situation was safe and there was no bombing sound. We decided to move to North Sudan, River Nile State. Then I found myself an IDP in this state.”
The UNMAS EORE Team, operating in River Nile and implemented through DRC and JASMAR, observed that Tagwa was crying during the EORE awareness session in the IDP camp. Through talking to the camp committee, the team learned that she was suffering from mental ill health - she sat alone most of the time, cried for no reason and got nervous quickly. The EORE Team arranged a psychologist visit for Tagwa. The psychologist came to the IDP camp and assessed Tagwa’s situation and, based on the results, provided counselling sessions, helping her to express her fear, anger and all negative feelings she was suffering. As the EORE Team continued to monitor and followed up with Tagwa, significant improvement in Tagwa’s conditions was observed.
Recently, Tagwa was selected by the camp residents to be the focal person for the camp’s gathering site and to be responsible for the coordination with different organizations that provide services and support. Moreover, Tagwa volunteered to receive community-based EORE training by the EORE team to deliver the safety messages to the people in the camp area, and when she eventually return to her home place in Khartoum.
Data as of May 2025