El‑Obeid faces intensified RSF assault and looming siege

El‑Obeid, a city of about half a million people in Sudan’s southern Kordofan region, has come under the fiercest attacks yet from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Repeated drone strikes have hit the main power station, fuel depots and water pumps, leaving neighborhoods without electricity and residents dependent on tanker trucks, wells and limited distribution points. Prices for water have doubled, while food costs have risen up to 300 %.

The United Nations has warned of substantial RSF troop movements around the city and a possible ground assault, raising fears of a repeat of the October 2023 El‑Fasher massacre, which the UN described as bearing the hallmarks of genocide. Analysts say capturing El‑Obeid would give the RSF control of a key crossroads linking army‑held central and eastern Sudan with RSF‑controlled Darfur, and could open a route toward Khartoum.

Humanitarian conditions are deteriorating. Displacement camps on the city’s fringe house roughly 200 families living in makeshift shelters; residents trek long distances for undrinkable water. Aid deliveries have dwindled, and UN agencies have suspended access due to security concerns. The International Organization for Migration warns the city is nearing a total siege, with civilians soon unable to leave or receive assistance.