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Sudan's RSF is deliberately striking hospitals while Gulf shipping stays strangled
RSF fighters in Sudan are deliberately striking hospitals. A BBC investigation published on 23 October 2026 found they have targeted hospitals across the country. The war between the army and the RSF continues, with no ceasefire in sight. In the wider region, the choke points that carry food and fuel are shut. Only 3.7 ships a day passed through the Strait of Hormuz in the week of 12–18 October 2026 (IMF PortWatch), down from 68 before the war began (IMF PortWatch, 1 Jan–27 Feb 2026). The Kerch Strait counted zero ships that week. Typhoon Champi shut Taiwan on 23 October, cancelling hundreds of flights (BBC).
The closed Gulf routes and the drought now gripping Sudan, South Sudan, Ethiopia and the Horn of Africa hit the same people twice. Aid that once moved through the Red Sea and the Gulf costs more and arrives late. Sudan alone counts 33.7 million people needing assistance in 2026 (OCHA). The EU added 22.5 million euros for Yemen on 23 October (ECHO), but Yemen's civil war is re-escalating while famine-level hunger persists. Agencies moving food for the Horn of Africa should re-price and re-route their supply lines around the Gulf closures this month.
Watch items
- Sudan — RSF hospital attacks draw more civilians into the war's killing zones
- Iran — Hormuz mines keep Gulf food and fuel imports from East Africa
- Yemen — Renewed Houthi-government fighting displaces more families from Hodeidah