More than 500,000 people remain trapped in the besieged Sudanese city of El-Obeid as international investigators and United Nations officials warn that intensifying paramilitary drone strikes and military build-ups threaten to turn the North Kordofan capital into a devastating repeat of the mass atrocities committed in El-Fasher.
The capital of North Kordofan State is facing an increasingly dire humanitarian crisis as the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces tighten their grip around the strategically vital hub. According to the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan, the paramilitary force has encircled the city, deliberately attacking critical infrastructure and severely restricting the flow of essential services.
Volley of Drone Strikes Shatters Power and Water Networks
For weeks, the city has been subjected to relentless bombardment. United Nations human rights chief Volker Türk reported that 15 verified drone strikes during three weeks in June killed at least 45 civilians in El-Obeid and its surrounding areas.
The strikes have heavily damaged civilian infrastructure, disabling the main power station and triggering extensive blackouts. Water supplies have been disrupted, and local hospitals struggle to operate generators and care for the wounded. The Yale Humanitarian Research Lab confirmed that the municipality is battling a severe electricity and fuel crisis.
“Funerals have been targeted, fuel stations, medical facilities — they are really squeezing the life out of El-Obeid.”
Dr. Eva Khair, founder and director of the Sudan Global Consortium Group
Strategic Gateway and Logistics Hub Under Threat
El-Obeid’s geographic position makes it a critical prize in Sudan’s civil war. Sitting on the edge of the desert along a key trade route, the city links the Darfur region in the west with army-controlled eastern regions. It serves as a major commercial center for Arabic gum and agricultural goods, houses an oil pipeline carrying South Sudanese crude north to Port Sudan, and hosts the Sudanese Armed Forces’ 5th Infantry Division alongside an airbase.
With government forces using the city as a core logistics base—including a joint operations room established with Egypt after the fall of Darfur—the stakes for control of North Kordofan are exceptionally high.
Echoes of the El-Fasher Massacre
Fears for El-Obeid are driven directly by the brutal outcome in El-Fasher, which fell to paramilitary forces in October 2025 following an 18-month siege. Investigations by Amnesty International and the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan concluded that the offensive—marked by door-to-door executions, targeted killings, and widespread sexual violence—bore the hallmarks of ethnic cleansing and genocide.
International migration and human rights agencies are now warning that identical tactics are unfolding around El-Obeid. Mohamed Refaat, chief of mission for the International Organization for Migration in Sudan, issued a stark warning regarding the half-million residents trapped inside.
The United Nations Human Rights Council adopted a resolution on July 6, 2026, mandating an investigation into violations and abuses of international humanitarian law in El-Obeid.
Trapped Civilians Face Dwindling Options
Inside the embattled city, roughly 500,000 people—including 100,000 internally displaced individuals who fled earlier violence in Darfur—find themselves caught in the crossfire. While humanitarian organizations report that main roads remain technically open and buses are operating with dozens of passengers departing daily, many residents cannot afford the journey or fear drone strikes along the escape routes.
Civilians who choose to stay face deteriorating conditions marked by severe supply shortages and growing anxiety over whether government forces can mount an effective defense.
