UN Warns of Imminent Atrocity in Sudan's El-Obeid City

The United Nations has raised serious concerns about the safety of civilians in the Sudanese city of El-Obeid, warning of a potential paramilitary assault that could lead to widespread human rights violations.

Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, addressed an urgent debate at the UN Human Rights Council on Friday, urging world leaders to take immediate action to prevent what he described as a 'human rights catastrophe.' He stated that civilians in El-Obeid have endured siege-like conditions for 18 months, with relentless drone strikes as the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) battle for control.

The UN's top rights body held a rare urgent debate following a request by Britain and other countries. In recent days, multiple governments and aid organisations have warned of a possible RSF offensive on El-Obeid, a city of half a million people that also hosts nearly 100,000 refugees displaced by the broader civil war.

Sudan's conflict erupted in April 2023 between the regular army and the paramilitary RSF. El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state, sits on a key route linking RSF-held areas in western Darfur to army-controlled regions in the east. The city has faced intensified RSF attacks in recent weeks, including strikes on its main power station and fuel depots, causing blackouts and shutting down water pumps.

Mr. Turk expressed fear of a repeat of the widespread atrocities documented during the RSF offensive on El-Fasher in North Darfur last year, which resulted in at least 6,000 deaths. The UN's independent fact-finding mission on Sudan concluded in February that the siege of El-Fasher bore 'the hallmarks of genocide.'

The British representative, Eleanor Sanders, told the council that the RSF had 'raped, pillaged, and murdered their way through El-Fasher' and that El-Obeid is now 'on the precipice of an atrocity.' She called for urgent action to prevent further harm to civilians.

Speaking from Port Sudan, Mohamed Refaat of the International Organization for Migration warned that if immediate action is not taken, El-Obeid could see a displacement of 500,000 or more, and humanitarian resources are already depleted.

A draft resolution presented by Britain, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Norway strongly condemns the escalating RSF violence and calls for an immediate ceasefire. The resolution will be voted on Monday.