UN Warns of Imminent Mass Atrocities as RSF Builds Up Around Sudan's El Obeid
UN Warns of Mass Atrocities Risk in El Obeid
The UN aid coordination office OCHA warned on Monday of escalating violence in and around El Obeid that is putting civilians at increased risk. [1] This warning follows reports of a significant build-up of the Rapid Support Forces around the North Kordofan state capital. [1] The UN Security Council expressed grave concern on Saturday over the imminent risk of mass atrocities in El Obeid. [1] The Council called on all parties to cease hostilities and urged UN member states to refrain from any interference that could fuel the violence. [4] UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned of the imminent risk of an attack and stated that the horrors of El-Fasher must not be repeated in El-Obeid. [4] UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy for Sudan Pekka Haavisto last week called on RSF leader General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, also known as Hemedti, to spare El-Obeid. [4] The European Union also called on the RSF to immediately cease the massacres of civilians, violence against ethnic groups, and attacks on civilian infrastructure. [4]
Drone Strikes Disrupt Power, Water and Hospitals
Between Thursday and Sunday, drone attacks reportedly targeted multiple locations in El Obeid, including a power substation and a fuel station. [1] The Sudan Doctors Network reported that the attacks forced the closure of several medical facilities, including a dialysis centre. [1] The strikes also caused the shutdown of water stations, further disrupting access to essential services for the population. [1] Local sources reported that on Sunday two key bridges located south of the city of Um Ruwaba were targeted by drones along a main road to neighbouring South Kordofan state, though humanitarian partners reported that movement there remained possible. [1] Multiple drone attacks were also reported on Sunday along a key highway in the city of Ar Rahad, located southeast of El Obeid. [1] The Sudan Doctors Network has warned in recent weeks of an increase in drone attacks against schools, hospitals, health centres, displacement camps, and a power plant in El Obeid, plunging the town into darkness and disrupting the water pumping system. [4] Elias Abu Ata, advisor for the Norwegian Refugee Council in Sudan, described El Obeid as not just a large city but a nerve center for commercial and humanitarian activities. [4]
Cholera Outbreak Worsens in West Kordofan
A cholera outbreak in West Kordofan state continues to worsen, driven by limited humanitarian access and insecurity, ongoing displacement and inadequate access to safe drinking water and sanitation. [1] There were 700 cases and 60 associated deaths as of 16 June. [1] This includes 100 cases and 10 deaths since the start of the month. [1] In response, the UN and partners have supported the provision of cholera treatments, supplies and awareness raising campaigns in addition to establishing cholera treatment centres. [1]
Civilian Casualties Mount in Other Regions
OCHA said drone strikes have also been reported in other parts of Sudan in recent days, including in North Darfur and White Nile states, causing civilian casualties and damage to civilian infrastructure. [1] At least one civilian was killed on Sunday, and 15 others injured, in a strike on a fuel station at a market in Kosti, a city in White Nile state. [1]
Broader Impact of Three-Year Sudan Conflict
The paramilitary RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces have been at war for more than three years, creating an unprecedented humanitarian and protection crisis, with more than 30 million people in need of humanitarian assistance. [1] The conflict has killed at least 59,000 people, displaced around 13 million and left more than 30 million in need of humanitarian assistance. [4] The war began in April 2023 after tensions between the RSF and the regular army run by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan. [4] The region around El Obeid is considered a buffer zone between the territory captured by RSF in Darfur and the areas controlled by al-Burhan's army in eastern Sudan. [4] The UN fears a repeat of the scenario experienced in El-Fasher where, last October, the RSF launched an offensive against this major city in Darfur after a 500-day siege, committing massacres and mass rapes, atrocities which presented the distinctive signs of genocide, the UN fact-finding mission found. [4]
Calls for Protection of Civilians and Aid Access
The UN has once again urged all parties to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law, including by protecting civilians and civilian infrastructure and facilitating humanitarian access. [1] The UN Security Council called on all parties to cease hostilities. [4] The European Union called on the RSF to immediately cease the massacres of civilians, violence against ethnic groups, and attacks on civilian infrastructure. [4]
What to watch next: Continued RSF military reinforcements around El Obeid and any further drone strikes on infrastructure in North Kordofan, White Nile and North Darfur states, alongside the trajectory of the cholera outbreak in West Kordofan.
