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As the RSF forces surround the Sudanese city, the half a million civilians who are trapped are facing more brutality.
The UN Human Rights Council is it has been fixed to hold a quick debate on Friday over the crisis in El-Obeid, the capital of Sudan in North Kordofan. International groups fear a terrorist attack is imminent as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) tightens its siege around the city.
As drones descend on civilian areas and military units mass outside the city, there are growing concerns about mass killings by RSF forces. as seen in El-Fasher.
El-Obeid’s technical significance
The city is at the heart of Sudan’s civil war, which has pitted government forces against the rebel RSF.
It is the main gateway connecting Sudan’s capital, Khartoum, 550km (340 miles) to the northeast with the greater Darfur region.
It is also the main stronghold of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) 5th Infantry Division, known as Al-Hagana or “Camel Corps”, and also houses an airport, a large oil pipeline and a large gum market.
About 500,000 people lived in the city, which has become a refuge for about 100,000 people fleeing violence in Darfur and other regions.
Kholood Khair, a Sudanese researcher, said that El-Obeid’s war is about “power, land and money”. The siege has caused food prices to soar by as much as 300 percent, and many people are unable to afford the rising costs or reach safe havens.
Civilian buildings are on fire
RSF has increased attacks on civilians. An official investigation has shown that at least 16 civilian targets and services have been destroyed, including hospitals, schools, power stations and oil depots. In another tragic incident, eight students of the “Jeel Al-Raid” school were injured when aerial bombs pierced their classrooms while they were studying.
The attacks have disrupted electricity and water services, forcing residents like 35-year-old Aqsam Mohammed to walk long distances to get dirty, undrinkable water for his seven children. Nihad al-Tayeb from the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data Project (ACLED) reported RSF forces about 60km east, south and west of the city.
Mohamed Rifaat of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) warned that El-Obeid is approaching a cycle that will soon result in civilians “not being able to leave or return safely”.
He warned that what is happening in the near future may be similar to El-Fasher, where UN estimates show that more than 6,000 people he was killed in the first three days of his fall.
Amnesty International accused the RSF on Thursday of committing crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing during the protests massacre in El-Fasher.
The urgent intervention of the UN is to stop politics
A coalition of 46 Sudanese, regional and international NGOs are involved he quickly filed an appeal demanding peace without limits while warning of impending doom.
The UN Human Rights Council is it has been fixed do a quick debate on Friday.
It was asked by a large group of countries – including Britain, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands and Norway – which strongly warned that “around 500,000 civilians are at risk of serious violence”.
However, political efforts are still underway. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sudan recently refused to reject the request of the US to end the war, describing the statements of Massad Boulos, adviser to the US President Donald Trump, “incorrect”.
The ministry insisted that it would do well with the proposal and remained committed to the May 2023 Jeddah announcement. With the political system stalling, it is feared that the window to save thousands of civilians in El-Obeid is fast closing.
