The UN Human Rights Council is holding an urgent meeting on the crisis in Sudan Story

The state of emergency follows warnings that 500,000 civilians around El-Obeid are at risk of serious violence.

Geneva, Switzerland – The United Nations Human Rights Council is due to hold an urgent meeting in Geneva, Switzerland, to address the human rights crisis in El-Obeid, North Kordofan, amid the ongoing conflict in Sudan, following warnings that around 500,000 people are at risk of serious atrocities.

The rapid debate follows a request for approval by a large group of countries including Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway and the United Kingdom.

In their appeal, the countries warned of an increase in violence, saying that around 500,000 civilians are at risk of serious violence.

He added that the drone strikes have destroyed civilian equipment, which has led to fuel and water shortages, while the siege-like conditions have left thousands of people in El-Obeid stranded and lost essential jobs.

The group said it will give a decision that the MPs of the Human Rights Council in the organization will receive following the dispute.

El-Fasher Doctors

Meanwhile, the Sudan Doctors Network said that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which is fighting the Sudanese army, has detained 20 doctors, including four women, since they overran El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, in October last year, adding that their whereabouts are unknown.

In a statement, the independent medical organization called on RSF to reveal the fate of the prisoners and allow health workers to carry out their work without torture or violations of the law.

The network said that health workers in North Darfur were under heavy surveillance from April 15, 2023, until the end of El-Fasher, adding that 25 health workers were killed during that time.

Sudan’s war, now in its fourth year, has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced more than 12 million people and caused what the United Nations says is the world’s worst refugee crisis and famine.

Fighting has escalated in recent months in the Kordofan region and the Blue Nile state near the Ethiopian border, especially after the RSF overran El-Fasher, the last Sudanese military stronghold in Darfur.