Half a million trapped in el-Obeid as RSF surrounds Sudanese city with drone strikes

Jul 6, 2026

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.