UN Human Rights Chief Warns of Catastrophe in Sudan's El Obeid

United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Tirk warned that a new humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding around the besieged strategic city of El Obeid in Sudan’s North Kordofan state. Civilians have endured more than 18 months of siege, constant drone attacks and a critical shortage of clean water, while the UN office has documented mass killings, kidnappings, torture, sexual violence and looting. Between 6 and 28 June alone, 15 drone strikes killed at least 45 civilians and injured 41 more. The International Organization for Migration reports that more than 219 000 people have been displaced in the region, with the city’s half‑million population at risk of further displacement. The UN Human Rights Council is considering a resolution condemning the escalation of violence by the Rapid Support Forces, and Sudan’s foreign minister has called for concrete international pressure. British Foreign Secretary Ivet Kuper urged the world not to allow El Obeid to become “a new senseless tragedy.”