France Urges Sudanese Armed Forces And RSF To Secure Ceasefire In El Obeid

France’s permanent representative to the United Nations Security Council, Mr. JÉRÔME BONNAFONT, said the reports of an expert group confirm that “in Sudan, the parties to the conflict are continuing their devastating escalation.”

“The Council of Ministers of the Peace Government issued an official statement in which it says it is following with great interest the discussions led by the international community aimed at protecting civilians, facilitating humanitarian access, and opening safe corridors in the city of El Obeid”

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Bonnafont told the Council that the priority is “to secure a ceasefire across the entire territory of Sudan,” urging the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), as well as their allies, to halt hostilities and engage in direct negotiations in good faith.

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He added that the ceasefire must be accompanied by credible monitoring and verification measures, and he urged the RSF to immediately cease any action that could endanger civilians and provoke new atrocities in El-Obeid.

Bonnafont also called for extending the 1591 sanctions regime to the entire Sudan and for full, safe, and unimpeded humanitarian access across all of Sudan.

He said France supports the Quad and Quintet efforts to achieve a humanitarian pause, followed by a permanent ceasefire, and he welcomed the presence of Mr. Massad Boulos, Special Adviser to the President of the United States for Africa.

In El Obeid, the Peace Government’s Council of Ministers said it is following discussions aimed at protecting civilians, facilitating humanitarian access, and opening safe corridors, with Minister of Information and official spokesperson Khaled Danaa stressing the urgency of coordinating global actions.

Danaa underscored the intention to collaborate closely with the United States, the United Kingdom, and the European Union under the auspices of the African Union to put in place concrete and urgent measures guaranteeing the protection of civilians and alleviating their suffering, and he reiterated the call for the immediate opening of security corridors.

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The Peace Government said the objective is to allow citizens wishing to leave El Obeid to move to safe areas offering protection, security, and legal guarantees, while committing to ensuring access to humanitarian aid without hindrance or discrimination in close collaboration with the United Nations and various international organizations.

In a separate warning, Volker Türk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said another human rights catastrophe is unfolding in besieged El-Obeid and warned of a recurring pattern of atrocities, urging the international community to act.

Türk said civilians have been living under siege-like conditions for 18 months, with a sharp shortage of clean water in El-Obeid and ongoing drone strikes, as Britain requested the emergency session and Yvette Cooper said the world cannot stand idly by while El-Obeid becomes “another reckless tragedy... the international community must take on its responsibilities.”

Eleanor Sanders, Britain’s representative to the Council, said “The increase in drone strikes has killed civilians and destroyed vital infrastructure,” adding that basic supply routes in the region have been targeted, along with fuel stations and the electricity network.

“In recent days, the United Nations and several organizations have expressed concern about the possibility of an imminent attack on Al-Obeid, similar to the assault that last year led to the fall of El Fasher in Darfur, where the Rapid Support Forces were accused of committing atrocities”

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Volker Turk warned that the Human Rights Council has documented 15 drone attacks on Al-Obeid and its surroundings between 6 and 28 June, resulting in at least 45 civilians killed and 41 others injured, with the actual toll likely higher.

Turk also said that across various parts of North Kordofan, drone aircraft belonging to both sides have repeatedly targeted markets, schools, fuel stations, water facilities, and civilian vehicles.

The UN and several organizations warned of the possibility of an imminent attack on Al-Obeid similar to the assault that last year led to the fall of El Fasher in Darfur, where the Rapid Support Forces were accused of committing atrocities.

Mohamed Rifaat, head of the IOM mission in Sudan, warned that if the international community does not act now “we will witness a repetition of what happened in El Fasher, and a new wave of displacement could include around 500,000 people, or even more.”