Cairo, July 7 (SANA) Arab League Secretary-General Nabil Fahmy warned Tuesday of an imminent humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan’s El Obeid city, accusing the rebel Rapid Support Forces of targeting markets, schools, hospitals and water and electricity facilities, as a Sudanese rights group reported 15 civilian deaths in drone attacks in North Kordofan.
Fahmy said in a statement on X that he is following “with grave concern” the critical developments in El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state, noting that “more than half a million civilians, including tens of thousands of displaced people, are under a suffocating siege and continuous drone bombardment by the Rapid Support Forces, which has targeted markets, schools, hospitals and water and electricity facilities.”
The Arab League chief warned that “the continued military mobilization and targeting of residential neighborhoods and civilian facilities threatens to replicate the atrocities witnessed in El Fasher, despite repeated international warnings of the risk of serious violations that may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
Fahmy stressed “the need to intensify international and regional efforts to prevent the city from sliding into a wider humanitarian and security catastrophe, and to stop everything that would prolong the conflict,” while affirming respect for Sudan’s unity, sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Rights group: 15 civilians killed in drone attacks
Separately, the Emergency Lawyers Group in Sudan reported Tuesday that 15 civilians were killed in two drone attacks in North Kordofan state, according to AFP.
On Monday, a drone struck a civilian vehicle carrying people on their way to a wedding in the town of Al-Sha’atut, killing 13 civilians, including five women, the group said in a statement.
On Tuesday morning, a second drone attack struck a civilian vehicle transporting water near a water source in the Hamrat al-Sheikh area, killing two people, the group added.
UN Human Rights Council launches investigation
On Monday, the UN Human Rights Council adopted a resolution calling for an urgent investigation into violations committed against civilians in El Obeid, North Kordofan.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk warned in May of the growing escalation in Sudan, stating that the expansion of violence and the intensive use of drones signaled a likely rise in civilian casualties.
Sudan has been embroiled in a war since April 2023 between the Sudanese army and the rebel Rapid Support Forces, which has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced millions of civilians and exacerbated a humanitarian crisis across vast areas of the country.
The conflict has deepened in recent months, with the RSF tightening its siege on El Obeid, a strategic city in central Sudan, where attacks have intensified since early June, killing dozens of civilians and displacing thousands. The UN reports that over 30 million people in Sudan will need humanitarian assistance during 2026 amid a significant funding gap.
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