UNITED NATIONS, Feb. 4 (Xinhua) -- UN humanitarians said Wednesday they are deeply alarmed by reports of drone strikes in Kadugli, Sudan, killing at least 15 civilians, including seven children.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said the Sudan Doctors Network reported the latest attack occurred on Tuesday in a residential neighborhood of Kadugli, the capital of South Kordofan state, and continued into the evening.

"Medical sources indicate that a health centre was also struck while patients were receiving treatment," OCHA said. "Local sources report that more than half of Kadugli's medical facilities are no longer functioning after months of siege conditions, shelling and severe shortages."

The office said Kadugli has been hit by a series of drone attacks this week on civilian areas and medical facilities, which have reportedly caused further civilian casualties and significantly degraded already fragile health services.

Civilians, medical facilities and humanitarian workers must be protected at all times, OCHA said, adding that rapid, safe, unhindered and sustained humanitarian access must be ensured, so assistance can reach people in need.

The office said that famine conditions have been identified in Kadugli, food prices have surged and malnutrition is deepening. Key humanitarian supply routes into the city remain unavailable.

According to OCHA, UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan Denise Brown met earlier in the week with displaced families at Al Afad camp in Northern state's city of Ad Dabbah, where she heard accounts of extreme violence, fear and loss after more than 1,000 days of war in Sudan.

The humanitarians called for an end to violence and additional funding to scale up life-saving assistance. ■