U.S. Warns RSF And Allied Forces Massing Near El-Obeid Could Escalate Violence Against Civilians

The U.S. Department of State said on Monday it was deeply concerned by reports that the Rapid Support Forces and allied forces are massing around the city of El-Obeid in North Kordofan state, warning the move would significantly increase the risk of violence against civilians and escalate the conflict across the entire Kordofan region.

“Britain and six European countries on Tuesday called for an immediate halt to the violence targeting the Sudanese city of Al-Abyad after it was surrounded by the Rapid Support Forces, according to a statement from the British Foreign Office”

Al-Jazeera Net

The U.S. State Department said in a statement that troubling indications point to a potential imminent mass abuses that would worsen the humanitarian catastrophe Sudan is suffering, and it urged the warring parties to facilitate safe, rapid, and unobstructed access for humanitarian aid.

Al-Jazeera Net

The city of El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan, experienced cautious calm after hours following a drone attack targeting the city’s electricity transmission substation, which the U.S. State Department said caused technical damage and a blackout.

Al-Sharq sources cited by Al-Sharq said the attack damaged key components of the substation, causing a halt in power supply, while technical and engineering teams began assessing the damage and initiating repairs to restore service.

In the same context, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy to Sudan, Beeka Havisto, urged RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Daglo (Hemeti) not to launch any attack on El-Obeid, warning of the serious humanitarian consequences that could result from any military escalation in the city.

A joint statement by the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, and Norway warned of credible indicators of an imminent attack on El-Obeid and urged the Rapid Support Forces to halt the assault immediately and allow civilians to leave danger zones.

The statement said drone attacks have killed civilians and caused a severe shortage of fuel, food, and water, and it tied the warning to what happened in El Fasher, warning against a repetition of atrocities described as bearing signs of genocide.

Elaph

British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said that the atrocities seen in Fashir in 2025 must not be repeated, adding that last year the world watched in horror as the RSF raped, looted and killed in Fashir.

A Sudanese army source told Al Jazeera that an RSF drone strike targeted several sites in Al-Abyad, the capital of North Kordofan, while Musad Boulos, adviser to the U.S. president for Arab and African affairs, said Washington urged the RSF to avoid steps that could threaten civilians in Al-Abyad.

The Al Jazeera report also said Mohammed Rifaat, head of the IOM mission in Sudan, warned aid agencies suspended operations due to deteriorating security on the roads leading to the city, and that if the siege is not lifted and unconditional access to aid is allowed within weeks or two months at most, they will reach the same tragic level seen in Fashir.

On Monday night, the Rapid Support Forces launched an intense drone attack on the city of El Obeid, targeting residential and service facilities, and Sudanese sources and eyewitnesses said the strikes extended to several residential neighborhoods and service facilities.

The report said the targeting of water stations in North Kordofan worsened the city’s drinking-water crisis, causing a sharp shortage of potable water, and residents formed long queues of citizens seeking clean water.

The same account said the Rapid Support Forces attacked, on the evening of last Thursday, the El Obeid power-transmission substation with drones, damaging key components and leading to a halt in power supply while technical and engineering teams began damage assessment and maintenance to restore service.

Al Jazeera also reported that drone strikes in recent weeks have killed civilians and caused a sharp shortage of fuel, food and water, and it said aid workers delivering life-saving assistance were deliberately targeted.

The Al Jazeera report warned that Al-Abyad could face a humanitarian catastrophe within weeks unless aid can enter urgently, and it said the UN warned in May of rising drone attacks in the Kordofan region that killed 880 civilians between January and April 2026.