Sudan: clearing explosives and training local organisations

Sudan is a country in the north east of Africa with a coast on to the Red Sea. It borders Egypt, Chad, Libya, Eritrea, Ethiopia, South Sudan and the Central African Republic.

HALO started a Sudan programme in 2025 in response to the extensive humanitarian crisis that has developed since the onset of a major civil conflict in 2023.

Situation in Sudan

Sudan is currently the world’s largest humanitarian and displacement crisis, with 34 million people in humanitarian need: over 60% of the pre-war population. Prior to 2023, it was reported that 2,662 civilians were victims of landmines and explosives in the country, yet only 130 explosive incidents have been reported since, resulting in 248 victims - likely a significant under-reporting, for a period marked by three years of intense fighting.

Pre-war estimates suggested there were 34 square km of land needing to be cleared across 400 different sites, but it is certain that the level of contamination has grown by magnitudes around urban centres, such as the capital Khartoum, which had a combined pre-war population of eight million.

Since the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) withdrew from Khartoum in May 2025, over 1 million civilians have returned, with a further 2.7 million expected if the city remains stable. While communities struggle to survive, the war rages on.

Watch: Associated Press report on unexploded ordnance in Khartoum

"Many families arrive to find homes that are damaged or uninhabitable. Electricity and clean water remain scarce. Health care is limited and the risk of cholera persists. Unexploded ordnance continues to endanger civilians in residential areas, near schools, and along roads."

International Organisation on Migration

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HALO's work and impact in Sudan

HALO Sudan was established in 2025 to reduce the risk to civilians posed by the threat of explosive ordnance in and around Khartoum. Following an invitation to work from the National Mine Action Centre of Sudan (NMAC), HALO is seeking funding to deliver life-saving humanitarian mine action services in Khartoum and the surrounding localities of Bahri and Omdurman, all currently absorbing an unprecedented influx of returnees following the withdrawal of the Rapid Support Forces in May 2025.

HALO is registered with the Humanitarian Aid Commission and accredited by the NMAC in Sudan. The programme is currently operating from an established office in Port Sudan, with plans to open an office in Khartoum.

HALO's mission will focus on the deployment of survey and explosive ordnance disposal teams, risk education for returnees and technical training assistance to local partners.