UN Security Council warns of imminent atrocity risk in Sudan's El-Obeid

The United Nations Security Council has issued a stark warning regarding the "imminent risk of atrocities" in El-Obeid, a key city in Sudan currently under siege by paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The council members collectively urged the RSF to immediately cease their offensive operations against the city.

El-Obeid, located in the Kordofan region, has been encircled by the RSF for several months. The RSF has been engaged in a protracted conflict with Sudan's regular army since April 2023. The urgency of the situation was highlighted Friday when the UN Secretary-General's special envoy for Sudan contacted the RSF commander, General Mohamed Hamdane Daglo, to implore him not to attack El-Obeid.

According to UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, the envoy, Pekka Haavisto, also pressed General Daglo to "avoid any action that could aggravate the already terrible humanitarian situation and further endanger civilian lives." This plea followed warnings from UN Secretary-General António Guterres and the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights on Thursday, who both alerted about the imminent danger of an attack on the city.

"We must not allow the horrors of El-Fasher to be repeated in El-Obeid," Guterres stated, referencing the atrocities allegedly committed by the RSF during their takeover of El-Fasher, the last major city in Darfur resisting their advance, in October of the previous year. A UN investigative mission reported acts of "genocide" in February related to the events in El-Fasher.

Since the fall of El-Fasher, fighting has intensified, particularly in the Kordofan region. This area serves as a critical corridor connecting the RSF's strongholds in Darfur with army-controlled territories in eastern Sudan, making El-Obeid a strategically important location in the ongoing conflict.