Children in El Obeid, North Kordofan State, are facing growing threats from drones flying overhead, forcing schools to suspend lessons and disrupting access to education, the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) has said.

Shashwat Saraf, NRC’s country director in Sudan, raised the alarm after visiting the city this week, saying children and teachers were struggling to continue learning amid growing security concerns.

“I visited a school where teachers told me they are being forced to regularly suspend lessons as a result of drones flying overhead,” Saraf said.

“It is an outrage that children should experience such things when simply trying to get education: they should not have to be brave just to attend school.”

According to the NRC, its learning centres in El Obeid have enrolled more than 5,500 pupils, while many other families are still seeking to enrol their children.

The organisation, working with its partner, the Alsalam Organisation for Rehabilitation and Development (AORD), supports children in catching up on missed lessons and managing the fear and stress associated with the conflict.

Drones have repeatedly struck civilian locations in El Obeid in recent weeks, including a university dormitory, a shelter for displaced families and warehouses in Sheikan locality containing more than 330,000 textbooks.

The city is home to more than 500,000 people, including tens of thousands displaced by fighting in other parts of Kordofan and Sudan.

“The places where people sleep have been hit from the air, and so have the books children need to learn,” Saraf said.

He added that the attacks had left families uncertain about their safety, while rising prices and limited access to clean water, safe sanitation and adequate shelter were worsening their living conditions.

“Each attack leaves families wondering what will be hit next,” he said.

The NRC also highlighted the difficult conditions facing students at a girls’ school in El Obeid, where about 1,200 pupils are enrolled but only three classrooms are available for use.

“Entering one of the classrooms meant trying not to step on one another,” Saraf said.

The organisation has built two additional classrooms and toilets at the school, supplied learning materials and trained teachers to support children affected by the conflict.

However, Saraf said the interventions remained insufficient to meet the growing needs.

“Children are willing, teachers are willing, parents are willing. What they are missing is the certainty that a school day can simply be a school day, without listening for drones or wondering when lessons might have to stop,” he said.

Beyond education, the NRC has provided cash assistance to 4,000 households and distributed 3,000 kits containing hygiene and shelter supplies, including blankets, plastic sheeting, sleeping mats, jerrycans and solar lamps.

It also plans to support community-led initiatives to strengthen efforts by residents already responding to the needs of affected families.

The organisation said its 12-month response plan for El Obeid requires $7.1 million to assist 107,000 people, but 65 per cent of the funding remains unmet.

Saraf called on parties to the conflict to protect civilians and essential infrastructure, stressing that attacks on civilians and the infrastructure they depend on are prohibited under international humanitarian law.

“The parties to this war must protect schools, homes, shelters and markets, and keep military assets away from civilian areas,” he said.

He also urged donors to provide immediate funding for water, shelter and education programmes to ensure that displaced people and host communities in El Obeid can access essential assistance.