UN Rights Council Orders Urgent Inquiry Into Alleged Atrocities in Sudan's El-Obeid

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GENEVA: The United Nations Human Rights Council on Monday ordered an urgent investigation into alleged violations and abuses in Sudan's besieged city of El-Obeid, warning of an imminent risk of large-scale atrocities against civilians.

In a resolution adopted by consensus, the 47-member council expressed deep concern over the situation in El-Obeid, a strategic city in North Kordofan that has been surrounded for months by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which has been at war with Sudan's army since April 2023.

The council cited reports of dozens of drone strikes over the past two weeks, including attacks on hospitals and health facilities, as well as widespread sexual violence and the use of starvation as a method of warfare.

The resolution mandates the UN's independent fact-finding mission on Sudan to conduct an urgent inquiry into alleged violations of international humanitarian and human rights law in and around El-Obeid. The investigators are expected to present their findings to both the Human Rights Council and the UN General Assembly in September.

Presenting the resolution, Britain's ambassador for human rights in Geneva, Eleanor Sanders, said expressions of concern alone were insufficient.

"We must take concrete action to support accountability for these crimes," she told the council.

El-Obeid, home to around half a million people and nearly 100,000 internally displaced civilians, has witnessed an escalation in RSF attacks in recent weeks. The UN has warned that the city risks suffering atrocities similar to those reported during the RSF's assault on El-Fasher in October 2025, which UN investigators said bore "the hallmarks of genocide."

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk described the situation as a "human rights catastrophe" in the making, warning that the signs from El-Obeid were "clear and unmistakable."