Sudan’s El Obeid at Risk of Becoming Another El Fasher, Security Council Speakers Warn, as Drone Use, Aid Constraints Intensify Risk of Mass Civilian Harm

As military pressure builds in and around the Sudanese city of El Obeid, the Security Council today heard that immediate action is needed to prevent a repeat of atrocities committed in the city of El Fasher last year - which, in turn, echoed the 2004 horrors in Darfur.

The current escalation in El Obeid is characterized by increased deployment of substantial military reinforcements around the city by the Rapid Support Forces, who began warring with the Sudanese Armed Forces in April 2023. Concerns of a civil war were expressed to the Council several months later, and the war has now entered its fourth year.

More recently, the International Criminal Court has warned of an ongoing pattern of large-scale crimes against humanity across the Darfur region. The Council itself has issued two press statements in 2026 concerning continued violence in Sudan - the first focusing on the Kordofan region and the second, issued just six days ago, on the situation in El Obeid.

Drone Use Raises Lethal Risks for Civilians

"An escalation in El Obeid would place hundreds of thousands of civilians at immediate risk of large-scale violence," stressed Rosemary DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs. The High Commissioner for Human Rights has warned of an "impending human rights disaster" if this offensive is not halted. Calling for restraint, she underscored: "The window to avert a wider escalation in El Obeid is rapidly narrowing."

She went on to report that, while the Kordofan region remains the "epicentre" of the conflict, the growing use of drones is making the conflict more unpredictable, more geographically dispersed and more lethal for civilians. Further, their use is expected to continue through the rainy season, which otherwise would have brought a reduction in fighting. "The parties could not sustain this pace of fighting without the sophisticated weaponry they obtain through external support," she observed.

"There are clear warning signs of worse things to come if we don't act," she added. Calling on the parties to engage in negotiations towards a truce agreement, she said that determining Sudan's political future is a key step for the parties and their allies to agree to stop fighting. "They want a road map for what happens the day after they agree to lay down their weapons." She urged tandem efforts towards a permanent ceasefire and a sustainable political solution.

"The parties and their backers take note when the Council acts with unity of purpose," she pointed out. And while welcoming the Council's recent press statement, she added: "We call on you to do more."

UNICEF Sounds Alarm over Grave Violations against Children

Providing an imperative to do so was Hannan Sulieman, Deputy Executive Director of United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), who emphasized that Sudan "remains the largest humanitarian crisis in the world" where children pay the highest price. Noting that an estimated 500,000 civilians are at risk as fighting intensifies in and around El Obeid, she recalled that a similar situation unfolded in 2025 in the city of El Fasher. There, more than 1,500 grave violations against children were verified. "We must not allow history to repeat itself," she underscored.

More broadly, she said, the UN has verified more than 5,700 grave violations against children since the fighting began in Sudan. An estimated 825,000 children under five are expected to suffer from acute malnutrition this year. She, too, sounded the warning over the use of drones, noting that nearly 80 per cent of reported child casualties in the first four months of 2026 were linked to these devices. "The proliferation of explosive weapons is leaving a deadly legacy of contamination that will continue to threaten children long after the fighting ends," she added.

"In Sudan, one attack does not end when the explosion stops," she went on to say, as "a single strike can trigger a chain reaction that deprives children of safe water, healthcare, education and protection". Nevertheless, UNICEF is doing its part amid immense challenges. In 2025, it provided protection, education and psychosocial support to 3.5 million children, reached more than 15 million with potable water and treated more than 600,000 children suffering from acute malnutrition.

For its part, she urged the Council to immediately act to prevent further escalation - particularly in El Obeid - and to call on Member States to refrain from transferring explosive weapons to the warring parties, who are likely to use them against civilians.

"We demand an immediate end to all military advancements towards El Obeid," declared Somalia's representative, also speaking for the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Liberia. He warned of an "unchecked influx of illegal arms and advanced foreign weaponry, foreign mercenaries [and] drones" into Sudan, calling on all external actors to fully comply with the arms embargo recently renewed by resolution 2791 (2025).

Calls to End External Interference

Many Council members also stressed that external interference in the conflict must end.

"We call on those fuelling the conflict to cease," said the representative of the United Kingdom, adding that El Obeid is "on the precipice of an atrocity that would deepen the wounds inflicted on Sudan in El Fasher". The representatives of Greece, Pakistan and Denmark echoed these concerns, with the latter warning that El Obeid must not become "another El Fasher". She underscored: "This Council has a responsibility to act early to prevent mass atrocities, not only to react when it is too late."

"The alarms in and around El Obeid are loud and clear," declared Latvia's representative, adding that "we have seen this pattern before". The representative of Panama, recalling the "devastating" consequences for civilians in El Fasher and the Zamzam refugee camp, said that Sudan is facing a "massive protection crisis" and underscored that grave human rights violations happening there demand an urgent response and protection for survivors.

"Each day of war means more children displaced, more children out of school and more children exposed to new atrocities," added the representative of Colombia, Council President for June, as she spoke in her national capacity. She urged: "We cannot be ambiguous or sit idly by and delay our response." To that end, many - including Bahrain's representative - called for urgent work towards a humanitarian truce, which should then lead to a permanent ceasefire.

A nationwide ceasefire is needed, concurred France's representative, who also urged the Rapid Support Forces to immediately cease any actions that could endanger civilians or "provoke further atrocities" in El Obeid. He also called on all foreign actors to cease providing armed, logistical or financial support to the conflicting parties, stating that both have "committed acts constituting war crimes".

United States Announces Sanctions

"We cannot sit back and watch this happen again," stressed the representative of the United States. He announced that Washington, D.C., is imposing a second round of sanctions on Sudan for its use of chemical weapons, in violation of international law, and failure to comply with the Chemical Weapons Convention.

He also announced sanctions against eight individuals and entities for their connection to procurement and recruitment networks, which have allowed both the Sudanese Armed Forces and Rapid Support Forces to intensify fighting. He urged the Council to "consider options for expanding the current arms embargo on Darfur to apply nationwide".

Meanwhile, China's representative emphasized that any international mediation must fully respect Sudan's sovereignty. Agreeing that recent events in and around El Obeid pose major humanitarian and political risks, the representative of the Russian Federation pushed the Council to take a more constructive approach that considers the wishes of the Government and establishes "frank, constructive dialogue".

Sudan, United Arab Emirates Trade Barbs over Path to Peace, as Türkiye Cautions against False Equivalence

On that point, Sudan's representative said that the Government does not oppose a ceasefire - "but we reject any process that benefits the militia". He urged the Council to support the Jeddah Declaration as "the only achievement realized so far", support national ownership of the political process, establish border-monitoring mechanisms to address cross-border arms flows and work to end external interference in the conflict.

Further, he said that "international partners can put pressure on [the United Arab Emirates] to end providing the rebels with weapons, and the war would end".

Rejecting that as a false allegation "aimed at deflecting responsibility", the representative of the United Arab Emirates called on the Council to compel the warring parties to accept a truce. Should they continue to reject such a measure, he urged the Council to then consider measures to constrain their actions.

Türkiye's representative, meanwhile, stressed that "the core issue in Sudan should not be treated as a matter of balancing between supposed equals. The representative of Egypt, similarly, said that "any solution that equates the Sudanese Armed Forces and the rebel militias that stoked this conflict are condemned to failure".

In that vein, the representatives of Saudi Arabia and Ethiopia both underlined the need to respect Sudan's sovereignty, with the latter adding: "External prescriptions or imposed outcomes risk deepening divisions and prolonging instability."