ALBAWABA- Tensions have sharply escalated in El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state, as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) intensify drone strikes and shelling while reinforcing positions around the city, raising fears of an imminent large-scale offensive and potential mass atrocities.
The Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) continue to hold the strategic city, but RSF units have increasingly encircled the area, with recent weeks marked by sustained attacks on both military and civilian targets. The developments have triggered growing international alarm over the safety of hundreds of thousands of civilians trapped inside the city.
According to humanitarian and UN sources, RSF drone strikes have hit fuel stations, electricity substations, transport trucks, residential neighborhoods, displacement shelters, and even a funeral gathering.
Several strikes have resulted in civilian casualties, including mourners and displaced families, as well as damage to critical infrastructure that has worsened shortages of electricity, fuel, food, and medical supplies.
In mid-June alone, reported drone attacks killed between 19 and 23 civilians in El Obeid, with additional fatalities recorded across wider parts of North Kordofan in the following days. Overall, at least 50 civilian deaths have been attributed to recent aerial strikes in the region, according to monitoring groups and humanitarian sources.
The city, which hosts more than 100,000 internally displaced people and a total civilian population estimated at around half a million, is facing a deepening humanitarian crisis. Access to basic services has deteriorated sharply, with aid agencies warning of severe shortages and increasing risks to vulnerable populations.
The SAF has responded with counter-drone operations and airstrikes targeting RSF positions around the city in an effort to disrupt what it describes as preparations for a broader assault. Fighting has further intensified displacement and damaged additional civilian infrastructure, despite the army maintaining control of El Obeid, a key logistical and military hub.
The United States has warned of the risk of large-scale atrocities, urging an immediate halt to hostilities and a return to negotiations. The UN Security Council, UN human rights chief Volker Türk, and a coalition of nearly 30 countries have also called for urgent de-escalation, accountability for reported abuses, and unimpeded humanitarian access.
International concern is mounting over the situation. Observers have drawn parallels with previous violence in Darfur and El Fasher, warning that El Obeid could become the next major flashpoint in Sudan’s ongoing civil war, which erupted in April 2023 between the SAF and RSF. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced more than 13 million, and pushed parts of the country into famine conditions.
