RSF Siege Traps Half Million Civilians in Sudan's El-Obeid as Atrocities Fears Rise

Terror mounts in Sudan's el-Obeid as Rapid Support Forces troops encircle the strategic city, leaving half a million civilians trapped amid fears of mass atrocities. The United Nations Human Rights Council prepares for an urgent debate this Friday regarding the escalating crisis in the capital of North Kordofan state. International observers warn that a full-scale humanitarian catastrophe is imminent as the RSF tightens its deadly siege on the urban population.

With attack drones raining destruction upon civilian neighborhoods and military reinforcements massing outside the walls, concerns grow that RSF forces will commit further mass killings similar to those seen in el-Fasher. The city holds immense strategic value in Sudan's grinding war between government forces and the renegade RSF militia. It serves as the primary gateway linking Khartoum, located 550 kilometers to the northeast, with the vast Darfur region.

El-Obeid remains a major stronghold for the Sudanese Armed Forces' 5th Infantry Division, known as the Camel Corps, while also hosting a critical airbase, a significant oil pipeline, and a large gum arabic market. Approximately 500,000 residents call the city home, and it has become a refuge for nearly 100,000 displaced people fleeing violence in Darfur and other regions. Kholood Khair, a researcher in Sudanese affairs, stated that the battle for el-Obeid is fundamentally about power, land, and money.

The siege has caused food prices to surge by up to 300 percent, leaving much of the population unable to afford rising costs or reach a safe destination. The RSF has escalated attacks on civilian infrastructure, with open-source investigations revealing damage to at least 16 targets including hospitals, schools, power stations, and fuel depots. In one harrowing incident, drone shrapnel pierced classrooms at the Jeel Al-Raid school, injuring eight students who were studying inside.

Attacks have crippled electricity and water services, forcing residents like 35-year-old Aqsam Mohammed to walk long distances to secure murky, undrinkable water for her seven children. Nihad al-Tayeb from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project reported RSF military movements approximately 60 kilometers east, south, and west of the city. Mohamed Rifaat of the International Organization for Migration warned that el-Obeid is approaching a total siege that will soon render civilians unable to leave or return safely.

He cautioned that conditions there could soon match el-Fasher, where UN estimates suggest more than 6,000 people were killed in the first three days of its fall. Amnesty International accused the RSF on Thursday of committing crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing during the massacres in el-Fasher. A coalition of 46 Sudanese, regional, and international nongovernmental organizations has issued an urgent appeal demanding an unconditional humanitarian truce while warning of an imminent catastrophe.

The UN Human Rights Council is scheduled to hold an urgent debate on Friday, formally requested by a core group of nations including Britain, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, and Norway. These nations issued a stark warning that approximately 500,000 civilians are at risk of being targeted in large-scale atrocities. However, political efforts remain gridlocked as the Sudanese foreign ministry recently denied rejecting a US proposal to end the war.

The ministry described statements made by Massad Boulos, an adviser to US President Donald Trump, as inaccurate and insisted it engaged constructively with the proposal. Officials remain committed to the May 2023 Jeddah declaration as political manoeuvres stall. As diplomatic channels struggle to produce results, it is feared that the window to save hundreds of thousands of civilians in el-Obeid is rapidly closing.