Onlykashmir.in News Desk
The United Nations has sounded the alarm over a deepening human rights crisis in Sudan’s besieged city of al-Obeid, as fighting escalates between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in one of the country’s most protracted conflict zones.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said civilians in al-Obeid have endured nearly 18 months of siege like conditions, cut off from reliable access to food, medical care and safe passage as the front lines have hardened around the city. He said UN monitors have documented at least 45 civilian deaths in recent drone strikes alone, a toll that underscores the mounting risk to non combatants caught between the warring sides. Turk’s office has repeatedly warned that the intensity and duration of the siege have pushed humanitarian conditions in the city toward a breaking point.
The conflict between Sudan’s army and the RSF, which erupted in April 2023, has already displaced millions of people and triggered what aid agencies describe as one of the world’s most severe humanitarian emergencies. Al-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state, has emerged as a critical flashpoint in recent months as both sides seek to control territory that links the country’s east and west.
Sudan’s army backed government has responded to the escalation by calling for stronger international action to halt the flow of advanced weapons to the RSF, which has faced repeated allegations of war crimes over the course of the conflict, including accusations of attacks on civilian areas and obstruction of humanitarian access. Khartoum has argued that continued arms transfers to the paramilitary force, allegedly facilitated through regional intermediaries, have prolonged the fighting and worsened the toll on civilians.
International pressure on both parties to the conflict has grown over the past year, with successive UN briefings highlighting the scale of displacement, food insecurity and attacks on protected sites including hospitals and schools. Turk’s latest remarks add to a growing body of UN findings pointing to the need for accountability over abuses committed during the war, and for stronger international mechanisms to protect civilians trapped in besieged areas such as al-Obeid.
The UN has called for unimpeded humanitarian access to the city and renewed efforts toward a negotiated resolution to the wider conflict, warning that the human cost will continue to climb the longer the siege persists without decisive international intervention.
