UN raises alarm over threat to Sudan's El Obeid
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is alarmed by the military buildup around El Obeid in Sudan's North Kordofan state, which could signal an imminent ground offensive, his spokesman said on Thursday, News.Az reports, citing Xinhua.
“The Secretary-General is particularly alarmed by reports of the deployment by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of substantial military reinforcements around El Obeid, which may indicate an imminent ground offensive into the city. Such an offensive would potentially place yet another major population center in Sudan at grave risk of large-scale violence,” UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said during a daily briefing.
“The Secretary-General calls for restraint from all parties and urges them to take all necessary measures to respect and protect civilians,” he added.
Guterres also urged all those with influence over the warring parties to use it to prevent further bloodshed. According to Dujarric, the international community must not allow the horrors witnessed in El Fasher to be repeated in El Obeid.
The siege and subsequent capture of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, by the RSF in September and October 2025 resulted in a massacre of civilians in the city.
The UN chief reiterated his call for an immediate cessation of hostilities and urged both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF to engage with international efforts aimed at reducing tensions and reaching a negotiated settlement to end the conflict, Dujarric said.
He stressed that humanitarian workers and relief supplies must be able to move safely and that humanitarian operations must be protected and facilitated. Civilians wishing to leave conflict-affected areas must be allowed to do so safely, while those who choose to remain must be respected, protected and granted access to the humanitarian assistance they require.
“The Secretary-General reminds all parties of their clear obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law, including the respect and protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, and the facilitation of rapid, safe, unhindered and sustained humanitarian access,” Dujarric said.
Meanwhile, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) warned that escalating hostilities in and around El Obeid are placing civilians at greater risk and severely disrupting humanitarian operations.
According to OCHA, continued drone attacks have caused significant damage to civilian infrastructure, with multiple strikes reported across the city earlier this week.
“Local sources indicate that most schools, markets, shops and humanitarian warehouses in the town have now closed,” the office said. “Humanitarian partners say they are postponing convoys between El Obeid and South Kordofan due to insecurity.”
OCHA noted that El Obeid hosts large numbers of displaced people and serves as a critical logistics hub for humanitarian operations across the wider Kordofan region, supporting aid efforts in areas of acute need, including the cities of Dilling and Kadugli in South Kordofan state.
The office added that any further disruption to roads leading into and out of El Obeid would significantly hamper humanitarian efforts to reach people in need.
By Nijat Babayev
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