Geneva, July 07 (Darfur24)
The UN Human Rights Council on Monday mandated its Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan to urgently investigate alleged violations and abuses committed in and around El Obeid, North Kordofan State, amid growing international concern over the deteriorating situation in the city.
The resolution, tabled by the United Kingdom, Germany and other Western countries, was adopted by consensus.
In the resolution, the Council strongly condemned the escalating violence by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied groups in and around El Obeid, saying the attacks have disrupted civilians’ access to essential services and caused civilian deaths and injuries.
The Council also expressed grave concern over the risk of widespread violations, including conflict-related sexual violence, particularly against children, internally displaced people and other civilians.
The resolution follows a series of warnings from UN agencies over the humanitarian impact of the fighting. UNICEF said on Monday that drone strikes and other attacks in El Obeid have killed 18 children and injured 17 others since May, contributing to a nationwide total of 330 children killed or injured in Sudan during the first half of 2026.
Last Friday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk said his office had documented 15 drone strikes on El Obeid and surrounding areas between June 6 and 28 that killed at least 45 civilians and injured 41 others.
The Human Rights Council also condemned attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, including recent drone strikes on El Obeid, as well as attacks on humanitarian workers, citing the targeting of a World Food Programme truck and the killing of a Sudanese Red Crescent volunteer.
The resolution called on all parties to the conflict to allow rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access, implement the commitments contained in the Jeddah Declaration for the Protection of Civilians, agree to an immediate ceasefire, and ensure accountability for violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.
International concern has intensified in recent weeks over the risk of a major humanitarian catastrophe in El Obeid as RSF forces continue drone attacks and build up troops around the strategically important city, which links Khartoum to Darfur and hosts the Sudanese army’s Fifth Infantry Division, an airbase, a major oil pipeline and one of Sudan’s largest gum arabic markets.