UN Warns of Looming Human Rights Catastrophe in Sudan’s Al-Obeid

The United Nations has warned that a new human rights catastrophe is unfolding in Sudan as fighting intensifies around the besieged city of al-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk urged the international community to take immediate action, warning that the situation risks repeating the large-scale atrocities seen in al-Fashir last year.

Sudan's civil war, now in its fourth year, pits the Sudanese army against the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), creating one of the world's worst humanitarian crises. According to Turk, civilians in al-Obeid have endured nearly 18 months of siege-like conditions, with severe shortages of clean water and relentless drone attacks worsening the humanitarian emergency.

Addressing the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, Turk said his office has documented widespread human rights violations across the Kordofan region, including summary executions, abductions, torture, and sexual violence targeting displaced civilians. He stressed that the warning signs in al-Obeid are "clear and unmistakable" and called for urgent international intervention.

Britain, which requested the council session, also warned that al-Obeid could become another site of mass atrocities if the global community fails to respond. British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper urged world leaders to prevent the city from becoming "the next senseless tragedy."

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said a full-scale assault on al-Obeid could force hundreds of thousands more people to flee. Since February, more than 219,000 people have been newly displaced across the wider Kordofan region, while al-Obeid currently shelters about 500,000 residents, including over 83,000 internally displaced people.

The U.N. human rights office reported that at least 45 civilians were killed and 41 injured in 15 drone strikes around al-Obeid between June 6 and June 28. Rights groups have accused both sides of committing war crimes, while the RSF faces repeated allegations of atrocities and ethnic violence, particularly in Darfur.

A draft resolution before the U.N. Human Rights Council strongly condemns escalating RSF violence around al-Obeid and warns of an imminent risk of mass atrocities. Sudan's army-aligned government has also called on the international community to halt the flow of advanced weapons to the RSF.