Note: Single-source report; awaiting corroboration.
The UN Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan reports escalating violence and human rights abuses in El Obeid, mirroring tactics seen previously in El Fasher, including encirclement, attacks on civilian infrastructure, and restricted humanitarian access.
El Obeid, capital of North Kordofan state, is controlled by the Sudanese Armed Forces but has faced siege-like conditions for 18 months, with blackouts and disrupted water supplies from attacks on power stations, severely impacting hospitals and services.
In June alone, the UN verified 15 drone strikes in El Obeid and nearby areas, resulting in at least 45 civilian deaths.
The Fact-Finding Mission identified serious abuses, including forced disappearances, sexual violence, detention, and mass killings related to the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces. In El Fasher, earlier abuses included door-to-door executions and aerial bombardments killing over 6,000 people within three days after an 18-month siege.
The UN human rights chief has called for urgent measures, including a pause in hostilities to allow humanitarian aid, Security Council action, and cooperation with the International Criminal Court to prevent further atrocities in El Obeid and similar areas.
Two years into the conflict, Sudan's war has caused at least 59,000 deaths and displaced around 14 million people, with 33.7 million needing humanitarian aid, making it the world's worst humanitarian crisis, according to the UN.