UN Raises Alarm Over ‘Siege-Like Conditions’ in Sudan’s El-Obeid

El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state in central Sudan, has been under what the United Nations human rights chief described as “siege-like conditions” for approximately 18 months, raising fresh concerns about a potential humanitarian catastrophe in one of the key front-line cities of Sudan’s protracted civil war.

A city under pressure

El-Obeid has long held strategic importance as a crossroads linking Khartoum with the Darfur region and southern Sudan. Its capture early in the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces transformed it into a focal point of military operations. Civilians inside the city have reported severe shortages of food, fuel, and medical supplies, while humanitarian agencies have struggled to deliver aid through contested supply routes.

UN warnings of a potential massacre

The UN human rights chief’s remarks have intensified international concern that continued fighting in and around El-Obeid could result in mass civilian casualties. International monitors and aid groups have repeatedly cautioned that densely populated urban centers caught in the crossfire are at heightened risk of atrocities, particularly when humanitarian corridors remain closed or only partially functional.

A widening humanitarian emergency

Sudan’s civil war, which erupted in April 2023, has already displaced millions of people internally and pushed the country to the edge of famine, according to UN agencies. North Kordofan, where El-Obeid is located, has emerged as one of the most severely affected regions, with waves of displacement spilling into neighboring states and across borders into South Sudan and Chad.

Calls for protection and access

Humanitarian organizations are urging all parties to the conflict to guarantee safe passage for civilians and to allow unimpeded humanitarian access. The UN has called for renewed diplomatic efforts to protect non-combatants in besieged areas, warning that without urgent intervention, the humanitarian situation in cities like El-Obeid could deteriorate rapidly.

As fighting continues and aid access remains constrained, the international community faces growing pressure to act before the situation in El-Obeid escalates into a full-scale humanitarian disaster.

Source: BBC News — read the original report.