El-Obeid besieged by RSF: Could this be Sudan’s next El-Fasher? | | Sudan War News

Half a million people are trapped in the Sudanese city of El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan, as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attempt to control the regions of Kordofan and Darfur in the civil war that has ravaged the country for three years.

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has warned of an impending “humanitarian disaster” as El-Obeid is expected to be the next site of major fighting between the RSF and the Sudanese army. Many countries have also done so raised the alarm about the brutality that is happening in the city.

El-Obeid, which has been decimated by continuous attacks for several months, is in danger after the war a lot of violence carried out by the RSF in El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state.

In October, the RSF captured El-Fasher, which it had besieged for 18 months. Last week, Amnesty International reported the killing of people in the western city. it came to ethnic cleansing while an independent UN agency said in February that the attack had “signs of genocide”.

The RSF has been massing forces around the key south-central city of El-Obeid for months, putting nearly 500,000 people, including 105,000 refugees, in the middle of nowhere.

The war in Sudan began in April 2023 when the RSF attacked the capital Khartoum. It quickly spread throughout the country.

The war is considered one of the world’s deadliest humanitarian conflicts and thousands of people have been killed. It is also the world’s largest migration crisis with more than 14 million refugees or internally displaced persons.

Here’s what we know:

What is happening in El-Obeid?

El-Obeid has been under “relentless” attacks by “progressive forces”, the head of the UN for Human Rights Volker Turk said on Friday.

Most of the city’s infrastructure has been destroyed. Attacks on its power plants have caused blackouts, disrupted water supplies and prevented hospitals from operating. Yale Humanitarian Research Lab report the city is facing problems with electricity and fuel.

Last week, the international community warned of the violence taking place in the city. The statement made by Norway was made on behalf of the Coalition for Atrocity Prevention and Justice for Sudan. The group includes the United Kingdom, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and Sierra Leone, and said it has joined 21 other countries.

“We are deeply alarmed by the imminent dangers of violence and genocide in Sudan,” the statement warned.

“Ten consecutive days of drone strikes have killed at least 50 people in El Obeid and North Kordofan, and have caused extensive damage to infrastructure,” he said.

“Reliable reports of ethnic violence, including gender-based violence, are distressing.”

The UN has called on the world to prevent another disaster in Sudan.

Why is El-Obeid technically important?

El-Obeid is on an important route between the Darfur region controlled by the RSF and other parts of the east controlled by the military.

Whoever owns el-Obeid controls an important gateway through which goods, people and goods enter central Sudan. The state military has its 5th Infantry Division and an airbase there. The city also has oil pipelines and a large gum arabic market.

If the city falls into the hands of the RSF, it will reduce the military’s ability to control the Kordofan region. RSF will also be managing the transport network connecting the western regions with the rest of the country.

Ahmed Ben Omer, an independent expert on Sudan, told Al Jazeera that the fall of El-Obeid could lead to a change in the conflict: “This city is at the heart of the agreement to unite Darfur, Kordofan and central Sudan.

RSF was expelled from the national capital in March 2025.

What happened in El-Fasher?

El-Fasher was brutally killed by RSF forces last year. Thousands of people were killed when the Sudanese army retreated.

As el-Obeid is now, the city was besieged by the RSF for 18 months – from May 2024 to October 2025 – when its forces attacked it. At the time, Amnesty International accused the RSF of crimes against humanity after survivors said civilians were subjected to sexual abuse, killings, torture and imprisonment. They were also deprived of food, water and humanitarian aid.

The UN also warned of the impending crisis in El-Fasher, but the international community did not act.

Leena Badri, who is not part of the Tahrir Institute for Middle East Policy, said that there is a big difference between El-Obeid and El-Fasher which shows the progress of the war in the war.

“El-Fasher was besieged for a long time,” he said. “El-Obeid is an example of the widespread use of drones, and how the use of drones allows them to besiege without having them surround the city.”

The result – starvation – could be the same for the people trapped in El-Obeid, however, Omer said. “The siege has a clear purpose: to burden the people, raise the cost of living, disrupt the markets, stop the flow of goods and slowly empty the city.”

He said that in El-Fasher, the city was fighting a war “while its citizens fight a daily battle for food, water and medicine” and warned that El-Obeid’s long-term pressure could lead to famine, which was confirmed in el-Fasher in September.

How is the situation in El-Obeid now?

Badri said the residents of El-Obeid are in dire straits because drone attacks on their economy and water have forced people to turn to wells and water tanks outside the city.

“Food has increased up to 300 percent, and water has doubled. Aid has also decreased because of security,” he said.

Turk, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, told the UN Human Rights Council last week: “Civilians have been under siege for 18 months, facing constant threats, while the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces are fighting for control of the areas around the city.”

Omer told Al Jazeera that stopping a potential disaster is a matter of politics and influence from international actors.

“The United States has sanctions and financial aid. Egypt has direct protection and political weight in the Sudan file,” he said. “Saudi Arabia has great political and regional influence and has driven the Jeddah process. The UN Security Council has legal and political tools.”

The Jeddah method refers to the negotiations that took place immediately after the war. They signed an agreement aimed at ending the war in May 2023, but fighting resumed just one day later.