Western countries warn of imminent RSF assault on Sudan’s al-Obeid

Dozens of countries, including Britain, France and Germany, warned at the U.N. Human Rights Council that Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces could imminently escalate an assault on al-Obeid, a city whose capture would put hundreds of thousands of civilians in danger. The warning turned a battlefield into a public health and protection emergency, with diplomats saying the next phase of the war could deepen mass displacement, hunger and disease in a place already strained by violence.

Norway’s ambassador, Tormod Endresen, said the risk could leave about 500,000 civilians exposed to large-scale atrocities, including more than 100,000 internally displaced people. The coalition statement, issued on behalf of the Coalition for Atrocity Prevention and Justice for Sudan, called on the RSF to stop its assault immediately and pressed all states to apply maximum pressure on both the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces to prevent atrocities and protect civilians.

The stakes in al-Obeid are unusually high. The city is the capital of North Kordofan state and sits at a strategic crossroads in a war that has already displaced nearly 14 million people. That broader conflict has helped drive famine and disease across Sudan, and any escalation around al-Obeid would threaten more than territory. It would hit families who are already living through repeated uprooting, interrupted care and shrinking access to basic services.

The warning came as recent drone strikes killed at least 50 civilians across al-Obeid and North Kordofan over 10 consecutive days, while also damaging civilian infrastructure. That pattern underscored how quickly the conflict has moved from military contest to civilian catastrophe, with each new strike further eroding the systems people rely on for safety, mobility and survival.

The coalition also reiterated the need for unhindered humanitarian access, a demand that speaks directly to the gap between international alarm and real-world protection. The world has signaled concern over al-Obeid, but the test is whether that warning can translate into deterrence before the city becomes the site of another mass atrocity.