Sudanese Army Fortifies Al-Obeid With 51 Kilometers of Trenches, Satellites Show

A report based on satellite imagery captured between May 25 and June 25, 2026 says the Sudanese Army has established a complex defensive network around Al-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan State, including fortifications and trenches stretching 51 kilometers and 14 main checkpoints securing entry and exit points.

“The Open Source Intelligence unit of Al Jazeera Network analyzed high-resolution satellite images revealing a belt of land-based defensive fortifications surrounding Al-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state in western Sudan”

Al-Jazeera Net

The same report describes a pattern of 'deliberate bombardment' of vital infrastructure in Al-Obeid, including damage to 19 fuel stations since February, with eight struck in the last month alone.

Al-Jazeera Net

It says the Al-Obeid electric substation (east of the city) was attacked, causing a four-day power outage, and that damage to the Grand Market from drone attacks directly hindered civilians' access to food and essential services.

The Times frames the broader context as violence spreading from town to town in Sudan’s civil war, with El Obeid “now home to 700,000 people” close to being surrounded.

The report warns that any full-scale ground assault could lead to a choking siege threatening around 563,000 civilians, in addition to more than 100,000 displaced.

In White Nile state, the city of Kosti came under a drone attack attributed to the RSF, targeting a commercial truck loaded with goods near one of the fuel stations on the western outskirts of the city.

Local sources said the drone struck the truck as it passed through an intersection, injuring three civilians who were transported by ambulances to one of the city’s hospitals for treatment.

Al-Yawm as-Sabi'

The Al-Obeid fortifications described by Yale’s Humanitarian Affairs Lab are paired with field developments in Darfur, where the 'Joint Forces' announced the recapture of Kulbus after fierce fighting.

The report says Kulbus had fallen to the Rapid Support Forces in October 2024, and that the spokesperson for the Joint Forces, Mutawakkil Wakil, confirmed liberation after decisive battles that inflicted heavy losses on the RSF.

It adds that the Sudanese scene remains contingent on whether the parties can spare civilians from the toll of clashes that have begun targeting the basics of life in cities that until recently were havens for the displaced.

The Yale report described by Sudan Tribune says the Sudanese army surrounded Al-Abyad with defensive parapets and trenches spanning 51 kilometers, along with at least 14 checkpoints on the main roads inside and outside the city.

“A report from Yale University's Humanitarian Affairs Lab reveals military fortifications and a deliberate bombardment of infrastructure in the Sudanese city of Al-Obeid, at a time when the Joint Forces announced the recapture of Kulbus in Darfur”

Al-Munshar Al-Ikhbari

It warns that fears about an RSF attack on Al-Abyad could threaten the lives of 563,000 civilians and 105,000 displaced people, and it says the lab warned of possible revenge killings by the RSF against those believed to be collaborating with the army if Al-Abyad falls.

The same report says eight fuel stations in Al-Abyad were bombed during May 25 to June 25, bringing the number of stations attacked since February 19 to 19, and it links the damage to the Al-Abyad substation east of the city to a four-day power outage.

Al Jazeera Net reports that the United Nations Human Rights Council decided to hold an emergency session next Friday to discuss the human rights situation in Al-Obeid and its surroundings in North Kordofan amid the ongoing conflict in Sudan.

In response to siege denials, the governor of North Kordofan, Abdul Khaleq Abdul Latif, said the closest point the RSF is at is Barra, 57 kilometers from Al-Obeid, and he denied that any land siege is being imposed on the city.