A joint United Nations convoy from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the UN Childrens Fund (UNICEF) and the World Food Programme (WFP) reached the towns of Diling and Kadugli in South Kordofan, delivering food, health and relief supplies to families cut off for months by siege and conflict, the UN spokesperson said. The mission was described as the first major joint UN convoy to the area since the conflict began.

The convoy faced a long and fraught journey and some looting of aid en route, the spokesperson said, but represented a vital breakthrough toward sustained humanitarian access. The UN repeated urgent calls for safe passage and protection of aid workers so life-saving assistance can reach hard-to-reach areas.

Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs Tom Fletcher told Security Council members that the humanitarian situation in and around Al Fashir is "horrific" and described the crisis as "fundamentally a failure of protection and of our responsibility to uphold international law," the spokesperson reported.

The humanitarian community has reached an estimated 13,500,000 people since January despite "massive threats, cuts and constraints" to operations, Haq said. The Security Council issued a press statement expressing grave concern at the violence in and around El Fashir.

UN mobile clinics and partners are scaling up response efforts in Tawila, providing urgent medical and nutrition services to newly displaced people and sustaining water, sanitation and hygiene operations across Tawila, Melet and surrounding areas, including water trucking, latrine installation, hygiene-kit distributions and cholera-prevention campaigns, the briefing said.

UN officials also said Ramtane Lamamra, the secretary-generals personal envoy, has invited the leaders of the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces to enter separate technical talks with the UN focused on de-escalation and protection of civilians. Martha Pobee, the assistant secretary-general for Africa, urged member states with leverage over the parties to press them to take this critical step and called on the Security Council to "use all tools available to demand peace in Sudan," the briefing said.

Why it matters: The convoy marks the first coordinated delivery by UN humanitarian agencies into parts of South Kordofan since the outbreak of widespread fighting, signaling a possible opening for more sustained access if security and safe passage can be guaranteed. Senior UN officials told the Security Council they are considering additional steps and urged member states to press the parties.

What remains unclear: The briefing noted that some aid was looted in transit and that constraints remain across the country; the precise timetable and guarantees for regular convoys and full humanitarian access were not specified.