Published on 6/22/2026
On Monday, the United States expressed its deep concern about what it described as disturbing indicators indicating the possibility of “imminent mass atrocities” in the Sudanese city of El Obeid, where the United Nations also fears an attack by the Rapid Support Forces.
In a statement, the US State Department urged both sides of the conflict to “stop any action that would expose civilians to danger, impede humanitarian assistance, or contribute to committing more atrocities.”
On Saturday, the UN Security Council expressed its grave concern about the mobilization of “significant military reinforcements” around the city.
The city of El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan State, has been besieged for months by the Rapid Support Forces, which have been waging a war with the Sudanese army since April 2023.
El-Obeid gains strategic importance due to its geographical location that connects Khartoum and the center of the country with its west. It is considered the largest urban center in the Kordofan region, which consists of 3 states and a main gateway to the Darfur region.
It has also become a shelter for hundreds of thousands of displaced people from the state of West and South Kordofan and the Darfur region, in addition to its population, which exceeds 600,000.
On Friday, the Special Envoy of the UN Secretary-General to Sudan, Beka Haavisto, called the Rapid Support Commander, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo “Hemedti,” to ask him not to attack El-Obeid.
Haavisto stressed “the urgent need to calm the situation in El Obeid, and to avoid any action that would exacerbate the already deteriorating humanitarian situation and expose the lives of civilians to further danger,” according to what UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said.
United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also stressed the need “not to allow the horrors of El Fasher to be repeated in El Obeid.”
Last Thursday, Britain, Norway, and a group of countries issued a warning at the United Nations Human Rights Council that the Rapid Support Forces may escalate their attack on the city of El Obeid at any moment, which could lead to widespread atrocities.
Norwegian Ambassador Tormod Andresen told the council in Geneva, “We are deeply concerned about the risk of escalationimminent on the ground, putting about 500,000 civilians at risk of becoming victims “Widespread atrocities, including more than 100,000 displaced people.”
The Rapid Support Forces are accused of committing numerous atrocities during their seizure of El Fasher last October, the last major city they controlled in Darfur. Last February, a United Nations fact-finding mission reported that “genocide” had occurred in the city.
