UN Human Rights Council Condemns RSF Violence In El-Obeid, Orders Urgent Investigative Committee

The United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution condemning rising violence by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the Sudanese city of El-Obeid and ordered the formation of an urgent investigative committee into abuses there.

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Britain submitted the proposal with the participation of 14 other countries, warning of the danger of wide-scale atrocities as the RSF continued to mobilize its forces and impose a siege on the city.

Dabanga Radio TV Online

Eleanor Sanderson, the United Kingdom's ambassador for human rights, told the council that these atrocities must not be repeated, while the South African ambassador described the situation as a 'red alert,' pointing to the repetition of genocidal methods used previously in El Fasher.

Last Friday, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights warned of a looming catastrophe around El-Obeid, noting that his office has documented patterns of extrajudicial executions, abductions, torture, and sexual violence in the area.

The council adopted the resolution unanimously, though China dissented, expressing opposition to investigations targeting states without their consent.

Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, warned in a briefing to the Security Council that external support with advanced weapons continues to fuel the war in Sudan.

DiCarlo said the wider Kordofan region remains the center of gravity of the conflict, pointing to intensified fighting around Dilling, Kadugli, and Babanusa, and to the ongoing fragility of the security situation in White Nile and Blue Nile states.

Al-Yawm as-Sabi'

Regarding El-Obeid, she warned that the window to avoid a broader escalation is rapidly narrowing, noting that drone attacks have increased significantly while the RSF expanded their presence around the city.

DiCarlo stressed that any escalation in El-Obeid would place hundreds of thousands of civilians at immediate risk of a wide wave of violence, warning it could lead to new displacement and deepen instability across Kordofan.

She urged all parties to show restraint and take all necessary measures to protect civilians, while also saying that reducing violence must be accompanied by a clear political process that defines Sudan's future after fighting stops.

China called for an immediate ceasefire in El Obeid in Sudan's North Kordofan state, warning that continuation of the military escalation around the city could open the door to a new humanitarian catastrophe similar to what was witnessed in El Fasher in Darfur.

“Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs, warned that external support with advanced weapons continues to fuel the war in Sudan”

Al-Yawm as-Sabi'

Fu Cong, the Chinese ambassador to the United Nations, said during a Security Council session that the international community must act urgently to de-escalate, adding: 'There must be an immediate push for a ceasefire.'

He warned that the RSF has sent large reinforcements to the outskirts of El Obeid in parallel with intensified drone attacks, and he urged the RSF to de-escalate and strictly adhere to international humanitarian law, especially with regard to the protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure.

The UN Human Rights Council resolution was also described as condemning RSF and allied forces for escalating attacks around the city and warning of an imminent risk of mass atrocities, including conflict-related sexual violence, while calling for an immediate ceasefire and unhindered humanitarian access.

In a separate account, Tasees spokesperson Ahmed Tagad Lisan told Radio Dabanga that lasting peace would require both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF to agree to an immediate ceasefire, a humanitarian truce and a political process, and he said humanitarian access must come first.