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Siege Tightens in El-Obeid
In Sudan’s El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state, drone strikes attributed to the RSF have hit repeatedly since June 9, killing more than 40 people and wounding dozens, according to a local emergency response team.
“The UN Human Rights Council is scheduled to hold an urgent debate on Friday about the crisis in el-Obeid, the capital of Sudan’s North Kordofan state”
The siege-like conditions have been accompanied by water shortages and blackouts, with the electricity generation plant struck and water pumps falling silent as they depend on electricity with no solar backup, while bread ovens have gone dark.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk told a human rights session in Geneva that civilians have been subjected to siege-like conditions for 18 months and have been battered by relentless drone strikes as the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF battle for control around the city.
Turk said his office documented 15 drone attacks on El Obeid and its surroundings on June 6-28, killing at least 45 civilians and injuring 41 others, adding that the actual toll is likely higher.
France 24 reported that Turk issued a “red alert” warning of an imminent paramilitary assault, saying “This is not a drill. It is a red alert that needs to land on the desks of heads of state and government around the world.”
UN Warnings, Diverging Narratives
Turk warned that “Another human rights catastrophe is unfolding in Sudan, this time in the capital of the strategic state of North Kordofan,” and he said his office documented patterns of summary executions, abductions, torture and ill-treatment, sexual violence, and looting along routes used by displaced people across Kordofan.
France 24 said the UN Human Rights Council was holding an urgent debate after a request by Britain on behalf of a group of countries, and it quoted Turk urging world leaders to take immediate action to prevent atrocity crimes.
In Geneva, Middle East Eye quoted Abdullah, a lawyer in el-Obeid, saying, “Everyone here knows that the UAE supports the RSF,” as residents described RSF drone strikes targeting petrol stations and oil tankers.
Middle East Eye also reported that Abdullah said, “This blackout exacerbated existing crises, disrupting water supplies and forcing many hospitals to shut down,” after RSF drones targeted al-Abyad power substation on 18 June.
Al-Jazeera Net presented a competing view, quoting writer and political analyst Mustafa Mohammed Ibrahim saying, “El-Obeid is not besieged,” and arguing that “it is the army that is using civilians as human shields.”
What’s at Risk Next
The UN warnings tied the El-Obeid threat to a feared repeat of earlier atrocities, with France 24 reporting Turk’s fear of “a repeat of the widespread atrocities” documented during the RSF offensive on El-Fasher, where Turk’s office said at least 6,000 people were killed.
“UN documents killing of 45 civilians in capital of Sudan's North Kordofan state, warns of ‘catastrophe’ Civilians in El Obeid have faced siege-like conditions for 18 months, says UN human rights chief Volker Turk Lina Altawell 03 July 2026•Update: 03 July 2026 Archive The UN said Friday that it had documented the killing of at least 45 civilians in El Obeid, the capital of Sudan’s North Kordofan state, on June 6-28, warning of a “human rights catastrophe” in the city”
France 24 also said a draft resolution presented to the 47-country rights council would call for “an immediate and complete ceasefire by all parties,” while warning that the RSF’s escalating violence in and around El-Obeid could trigger atrocity crimes.
In the same urgent debate context, the International Organisation for Migration mission chief Mohamed Refaat warned that if the situation was not stopped, “we will see another El-Fasher. We will see another displacement of maybe 500,000 or more,” and he said, “Absolutely not. Our system has been depleted from every resource.”
Drop Site News described El-Obeid as “on the verge of collapse,” citing destroyed fuel stations, a struck electricity generation plant, and water pumps that have fallen silent, while markets shutter at the sound of any drone overhead.
Middle East Eye reported that almost 600,000 people were living in el-Obeid, including more than 105,000 who had sought refuge in the city after fleeing violence and famine elsewhere, placing civilians and displaced people directly in the path of the siege-like conditions described by UN officials.
