Overview
- The UN Security Council and the United States publicly warned this week that the Rapid Support Forces are massing troops, vehicles and drones around El Obeid and demanded the RSF halt any assault because of an "imminent risk of mass atrocities."
- Local medical groups and NGOs report recent RSF drone strikes that have killed civilians and damaged power, water and fuel infrastructure, leaving hospitals and markets struggling to operate.
- A coalition of Western and other countries urged maximum pressure on the RSF and called for immediate, unhindered humanitarian access and protection for roughly 500,000 people in the city.
- The RSF has circulated footage and claims of territorial gains in other regions, but those claims have not been independently verified by reporters or international monitors.
- The warnings draw on the October 2025 El Fasher assault, where UN investigators estimated thousands were killed, and officials say a fall of El Obeid would deepen displacement, worsen hunger and complicate accountability efforts.