Britain Pushes UN Urgent Debate on Sudan’s El Obeid Amid RSF Siege

The UN Human Rights Council decided to hold an urgent debate on the situation in Sudan's El Obeid later this week, after Britain’s envoy warned of the risk of large-scale atrocities.

Britain’s Human Rights Ambassador Eleanor Sanders said the city is under "siege-like conditions" that have left thousands trapped and cut off from humanitarian aid amid intensifying drone strikes.

A News

Sanders told the Geneva-based council, "Up to 500,000 civilians are now at risk of large-scale atrocities," and said London planned to table a motion before the 47-member council on Friday.

The request was backed by Germany, Ireland, Norway and the Netherlands, and the debate is scheduled for July 3.

Sudan's delegation declined to address the council on Tuesday, while the council itself does not have any legal powers but can vote to launch investigations used as evidence in war crimes cases.

The UN debate request followed reports that Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and its allies are massing forces around El Obeid, a development that could result in an escalation of the conflict.

TRT World reported that Sanders described "siege-like conditions" in El Obeid, where drone strikes have intensified and humanitarian access has been cut.

Al-Jazeera Net

Al-Jazeera Net said El-Obeid is the capital of North Kordofan state in western Sudan, and it sits on a vital road linking Darfur under RSF control to west areas with areas controlled by the army in central and eastern Sudan.

Al-Jazeera Net also reported that El-Obeid’s native population is around half a million and that it houses about 100,000 displaced people.

The same Al-Jazeera Net report said dozens of organizations urged the warring parties to immediately declare a comprehensive and unconditional humanitarian ceasefire across the country.

Al-Jazeera Net said 46 Sudanese, regional and international organizations called on the warring parties in Sudan to immediately declare a comprehensive and unconditional humanitarian ceasefire, warning that escalation in North Kordofan state threatens a new humanitarian catastrophe.

“The UN Human Rights Council has decided to hold an urgent debate on the situation in Sudan's El Obeid later this week, with Britain's envoy warning of the risk of large-scale atrocities”

TRT World

The organizations warned that continuing escalation could lead to repetition of grave abuses that occurred in many areas of Sudan, including "the latest being in Al-Fashir," with crimes and catastrophic humanitarian consequences for civilians.

They also said civilians in El-Obeid have already been subjected to drone attacks that targeted fueling stations, fuel tankers, and the power plant, causing power outages and disruption of water services.

TRT World reported that UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres voiced deep concern on June 18 over escalating fighting in and around El Obeid, warning the city could face the kind of large-scale violence seen in Al Fasher.

TRT World added that Sudan entered its fourth year of war in April, with the conflict pitting the Sudanese Armed Forces led by General Abdel Fattah al Burhan against the Rapid Support Forces commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, known as Hemedti.