Norway Warns Rapid Support Forces Could Escalate Assault on el-Obeid, Sudan

Dozens of countries warned at the UN Human Rights Council that Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) could imminently escalate an assault on the central city of el-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state.

“The United Kingdom, Norway and a group of countries including Australia have raised the alarm at the United Nations Human Rights Council that the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in Sudan could imminently escalate their assault on the central Sudanese city of al-Obeid, possibly resulting in large-scale atrocities”

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The coalition statement delivered by Norway said it was “gravely alarmed by the urgent risks of atrocities and deliberate killings in Sudan,” and warned that some 500,000 civilians were “at risk of falling victim to large-scale atrocities”.

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The warning came as the statement said “Ten consecutive days of drone strikes have killed at least 50 civilians across El Obeid and North Kordofan,” and as it urged maximum pressure on the RSF and its foes, the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk also warned that an imminent offensive risked violations of international law, saying people living in el-Obeid had already been suffering siege-like conditions for more than 18 months.

Turk said, “We have seen this playbook before. We cannot allow the repeat of the preventable atrocities we documented in al-Fasher and Zamzam IDP camp in North Darfur last year,” framing el-Obeid as a potential repeat of earlier atrocities.

At the council in Geneva, Tormod Endresen, the ambassador for Norway, told the UN that the risk of imminent escalation would leave “approximately 500,000 civilians at risk of falling victim to large-scale atrocities, including more than 100,000 internally displaced persons,” and Norway shared a joint statement calling on the RSF to immediately cease its assault on al-Obeid.

The Eastleigh Voice said the warning was issued by the Coalition for Atrocity Prevention and Justice for Sudan during the Thursday session, and it described European nations citing increased military activity around the city as it reached a “critical stage”.

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The coalition statement also pointed to “10 consecutive days of drone strikes” that had killed at least 50 civilians and damaged civilian infrastructure, while urging all parties to comply with international humanitarian law and ensure civilians could leave safely.

Volker Turk warned that an imminent offensive could breach international law and deepen a catastrophic humanitarian crisis, saying “Let this be a stark warning to the world about an impending human rights disaster and worsening humanitarian situation.”

The UN News account added that “Dozens of drone strikes have hit El Obeid over the past two weeks,” particularly targeting fuel stations and trucks, killing civilians and cutting off access to basic services.

The UN warned that the imminent offensive risked “catastrophic impact” on civilians and serious humanitarian deterioration, with Volker Turk saying the risk of further crimes was tied to a city already “under siege”.

Turk also warned that the increasing use of drones to carry out air attacks was having “an even more devastating impact on the civilian population and civilian infrastructure,” and he called for what he described as an immediate halt to preparations for an eventual offensive on el-Obeid.

The UN News account said the Secretary-General António Guterres urged all those with influence over the parties to exert it to prevent further bloodshed, adding “We must not allow the horrors of El Fasher to be repeated in El Obeid.”

The same UN reporting said El Obeid has endured siege-like conditions for more than 18 months, and it warned that the imminent offensive could deepen the catastrophic impact on a civilian population already facing severe hardship.

The Eastleigh Voice said the coalition urged increased global pressure on both the RSF and the SAF to prevent further atrocities and reiterated the need for unhindered humanitarian access, as it described hundreds of thousands of civilians at risk around El-Obeid.