Every morning residents of El Obeid wake up with trepidation, wondering if today will be the day the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) raid the city. Right now, reports are pouring in of sounds of large explosions from the city. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan spoke during the Friday prayers: “This is not a war against the government but a war against the Sudanese people.” A senior United Nations official warned on Friday that the opportunity to prevent a major escalation in the Sudanese city of El Obeid is “rapidly narrowing”.
EL OBEID JUNE 26: Every morning residents of El Obeid wake up with trepidation, wondering if today will be the day the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) raid the city. Since earlier this month, the RSF have surrounded the strategic city. El-Obeid, also romanized as Al-Ubayyid, is the capital of the state of North Kordofan, in Sudan. The town, known as the ‘bride of the sands’, was founded by the pashas of Ottoman Egypt in 1821 and served as an important trading hub throughout Sudanese history, historically considered a meeting point between the country’s North, South, and West.
RSF drones have struck fuel stations and all fuel stations are now closed. Public transport is severely limited, to the point where people are riding on top of them. Right now, reports are pouring in of sounds of large explosions from the city.
Two people killed and 7 others injured, including a woman, due to a drone strike by the Rapid Support Forces targeting a fuel station in the city of “Rabak” in White Nile State, according to the Sudan Doctors Network.
The next major front line in Sudan’s war is most likely the strategically important city of el-Obeid in North Kordofan. This week, the UN Security Council, several European countries and the United States flagged “the imminent risk of mass atrocities” as increasing numbers of Rapid Support Forces (RSF) terrprists are deployed around the city.
Over the past two weeks, drone attacks have increased significantly in El Obeid, while the RSF have expanded their presence in and around the city.
A senior United Nations official warned on Friday that the opportunity to prevent a major escalation in the Sudanese city of El Obeid is “rapidly narrowing” as fighting intensifies in and around the North Kordofan state capital. 500,000 civilians are at risk and “children are at immediate and growing danger of being killed, injured, displaced, or exposed to other grave violations.”
The UN has verified more than 5,700 grave violations against children since the war began and more than 5,000 have been killed or maimed, although the real figure is likely much higher.
General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan spoke during the Friday prayers at Sheikh Abu Qurun Mosque in the East Nile locality: “The Dagalo militia is targeting citizens in Al Obeid city with killings, starvation, and attacks on infrastructure like power stations, fuel, and water facilities. This is not a war against the government but a war against the Sudanese people.”
