Following reports of a significant troop build-up by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied forces around the town of El Obeid in Sudan, as well as intensified drone strikes and artillery shelling, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, issued a stark warning on Thursday that an imminent offensive could result in the commission of further serious international crimes, further deepening the already catastrophic impact on the civilian population.
The threatened assault on the city comes amid an unprecedented nationwide emergency. Due to the war that started in 2023, an estimated 33.7 million people — nearly two-thirds of the population, including over 20 million children — currently require humanitarian assistance and protection across Sudan.
El Obeid is the capital of North Kordofan State, and its inhabitants have endured siege-like conditions for over 18 months. Control of the town and wider region has remained highly contested, with the frontlines repeatedly shifting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF.
“We have seen this playbook before. We know where it led then, and cannot now allow a repeat of the preventable atrocities we documented in El Fasher and Zamzam IDP camp in North Darfur last year,” said the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights.
“Civilians are at grave risk in Kordofan, particularly in El Obeid, in the absence of action to halt the imminent offensive and further military escalation.”
Türk strongly warned of an impending human rights disaster and a further deterioration of the humanitarian situation.
“The states with influence have the duty to exercise it now to stop this madness in its tracks,” he stressed.
Given the patterns of serious violations of international law documented by the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) during RSF offensives on El Fasher and Zamzam IDP camp in North Darfur State last year, the risk of summary executions, abduction, arbitrary detention and other violence against civilians is high, and must be prevented, the High Commissioner added.
The ever-increasing use of drones to conduct airstrikes is having a further devastating impact on civilians and civilian infrastructure in Kordofan. Over the past two weeks, dozens of drone strikes have hit El Obeid, particularly targeting fuel stations and trucks, resulting in civilian casualties. This has seriously impacted civilian access to basic services.
Türk urged the parties to the conflict to ensure the safe movement of civilians who have been forced to flee violence repeatedly in search of basic services.
“The people of Sudan need peace – urgent measures must be taken to protect civilians and prevent further atrocities, including sexual violence, as well as further displacement and civilian suffering,” he said.
“The world is watching, and those responsible for violations must be held accountable.”
UN chief calls for concerted international action
UN Secretary-General António Guterres also issued an alert on Thursday through his spokesperson, expressing alarm over the possible "imminent ground offensive".
He voiced particular concern over reports that the RSF is deploying significant military reinforcements around El Obeid. This signals an imminent ground offensive that would place yet another major Sudanese population center at grave risk of large-scale violence.
“Far too many times in this conflict, clear warnings have failed to trigger concerted action by the international community,” the statement said.
“The Secretary-General urges all those with influence over the parties to exert it to prevent further bloodshed. We must not allow the horrors of El Fasher to be repeated in El Obeid.”
Guterres reiterated his call for an immediate cessation of hostilities. He urged the SAF and the RSF to collaborate with international initiatives, including those of his Special Envoy for Sudan, Pekka Haavisto, to achieve de-escalation and a negotiated settlement that would put an end to the devastating conflict.
The Secretary-General also reminded all parties of their clear obligations under international humanitarian and human rights law, including respecting and protecting civilians and civilian infrastructure, and facilitating rapid, safe, unhindered and sustained humanitarian access.
Guterres stressed that humanitarian workers and supplies must be able to move safely wherever they need to go, while emphasizing that humanitarian operations must be protected and facilitated.
“Civilians who wish to leave must be allowed to leave safely. Those choosing to remain must be respected, they must be protected and they must have access to the humanitarian relief that they need,“ the statement said.
OCHA: Insecurity closes markets, shops and schools in North Kordofan
Despite the deteriorating security situation, humanitarian organisations continue to provide rapid, essential assistance in El Obeid and across the Kordofan region. Aid workers continue to risk their lives. Last week, a humanitarian worker was among the civilians killed by drone strikes in residential neighborhoods in El Obeid.
In an update on Thursday, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that escalating hostilities in and around El Obeid are not only putting civilians at greater risk, but also severely disrupting humanitarian operations.
OCHA stated that ongoing drone attacks are causing substantial damage to civilian infrastructure, with several strikes reported across the city earlier this week, including near El Obeid Girls’ Secondary School.
Local sources indicate that most schools, markets, shops and humanitarian warehouses in the town have now closed. Aid agencies say they are postponing humanitarian convoys between El Obeid and South Kordofan State due to insecurity.
El Obeid hosts large numbers of displaced people and is also a critical logistics hub for the humanitarian response across the broader Kordofan region, which supports operations in areas of acute need including the cities of Dilling and Kadugli in South Kordofan.
OCHA warns that any further disruption to roads into and out of El Obeid would significantly hinder humanitarian efforts to reach those in need.