The strategically vital Sudanese city of el-Obeid is under siege-like conditions as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) escalate drone strikes, trapping 500,000 residents. UN High Commissioner Volker Turk and a 28-country coalition have warned of an impending humanitarian catastrophe, fearing a repeat of the ethnic cleansing committed by the RSF in el-Fasher. The strikes have crippled el-Obeid's power and water infrastructure, driving up food prices by 300% and leaving displaced populations vulnerable to starvation and disease.
RSF drone strikes el-Obeid
- ▪The Rapid Support Forces have subjected the army-controlled city of el-Obeid to relentless drone strikes, including 27 strikes in June 2026
- ▪The Rapid Support Forces have effectively encircled el-Obeid from the north, west, and south, while the Sudanese army maintains an eastern supply corridor
- ▪Drone strikes in el-Obeid have targeted fuel stations, fuel tankers, water trucks, sewage trucks, and the main electrical substation
Strategic importance el-Obeid corridor
- ▪Control of el-Obeid would allow the Rapid Support Forces to connect its western strongholds to central Sudan and rebuild its political project
- ▪El-Obeid is strategically significant because it lies on a key route connecting the Rapid Support Forces-controlled west to the army-controlled east
- ▪El-Obeid hosts the Sudanese military's 5th Infantry Division, an airbase, an oil pipeline, and a large Arabic gum market
Humanitarian crisis civilian starvation
- ▪Approximately 500,000 people are trapped in el-Obeid under siege-like conditions, including over 100,000 internally displaced persons
- ▪Damage to el-Obeid's electrical substation and fuel shortages have disrupted water pumps, forcing residents to use potentially contaminated water sources
- ▪Food prices in el-Obeid have surged up to 300 percent, water prices have doubled, and humanitarian aid access has shrunk
El-Fasher massacre ethnic cleansing
- ▪An independent United Nations mission stated in February 2026 that the Rapid Support Forces' assault on el-Fasher bore the hallmarks of genocide
- ▪The Rapid Support Forces captured el-Fasher in October 2025 after an 18-month siege, committing acts that Amnesty International labeled ethnic cleansing
International warnings atrocity prevention
- ▪A coalition of 28 countries, led by Norway, issued a statement warning of urgent risks of atrocities and deliberate killings in el-Obeid
- ▪United Nations human rights chief Volker Turk warned of an unfolding human rights catastrophe in el-Obeid, citing 45 deaths from June drone strikes
Sudan civil war displacement
- ▪The Sudan civil war began in April 2023 when the Rapid Support Forces attacked Khartoum, and the group was later expelled from the capital in March 2025
- ▪The conflict in Sudan has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced more than 14 million refugees or internally displaced people
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