Deadly Drone Strikes Pummel El Obeid
Fatima, an aid volunteer in the besieged Sudanese city of El Obeid, has lost count of the drone attacks but said the strikes this past weekend were the most violent yet. The drones hit schools and fuel stations, killing more than 20 people, including students. 'Over the past few months, seeing 40 or 45 drones is the norm. You can literally count them,' she said, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution.
El Obeid, a city of half a million people, has become a key battleground in the war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). Located between RSF-held areas in western Darfur and army-controlled regions in the east, the city has suffered repeated drone strikes on its infrastructure. The army is fighting to prevent the RSF from setting up another blockade after a siege in February last year.
Rising Death Toll and Warnings of Atrocities
At least 45 people were killed and 41 injured in 15 drone strikes in and around El Obeid from 6 June to 28 June, according to the UN human rights office. There are growing fears of a repeat of the massacre in El Fasher last year, when RSF fighters went on a rampage after capturing the city at the end of an 18-month siege. Amnesty International released a report on Wednesday stating that the RSF had committed ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity in its campaign to capture El Fasher. An independent UN fact-finding mission had already said the RSF's seizure of the city showed the 'hallmarks of genocide' against non-Arab communities.
On Friday, Volker Türk, the UN high commissioner for human rights, addressed delegates in Geneva during an urgent debate of the UN Human Rights Council. He said: 'The signs from El Obeid are clear and unmistakable: another human rights catastrophe is unfolding in Sudan. This is not a drill. It is a red alert that needs to land on the desks of heads of state and government around the world. Their phones should be running hot in the coming days and weeks, with ideas on how to prevent atrocity crimes in El Obeid and in other places in Kordofan.'
Civilian Infrastructure Targeted
El Obeid hosts an SAF infantry division and an airbase, in addition to about 100,000 refugees displaced by violence. Experts have highlighted significant concentrations of RSF troops around the city and warn of an imminent ground offensive. A report released on Monday by the Yale Humanitarian Research Lab found damage to electricity generation, fuel storage facilities, and the main market that was 'consistent with intentional bombardment of civilian infrastructure necessary for the sustainment of life.' The report also noted an increase of more than 700 temporary structures at internally displaced persons camps in El Obeid in one month, 'consistent with a recent influx of highly vulnerable civilian populations to the city.' It said the SAF has constructed about 30 miles (50km) of defensive positions, suggesting it expected a siege.
Life on the Edge: Aid Workers Describe Daily Terror
Nohad Eltayeb, a senior research assistant at the Acled conflict monitoring group, said it had recorded 27 drone strikes last month around El Obeid, the highest monthly total since the start of the conflict in 2023. In an audio diary for the Avaaz human rights advocacy group, Fatima spoke of living life on the edge because of drone attacks on hospitals, fuel stations, and other facilities. An attack last week struck the city's main power station, causing blackouts in most of the city, she said. Drones have also hit people gathering to share Starlink internet connections when telecommunications networks are down.
'I cannot begin to describe how terrible the situation is right now,' Fatima said. 'Even the way people talk at funerals is different. Instead of praying for the deceased, they would be talking about how they died.' According to Fatima, merchants have increased prices, saying their goods are targeted by drones on the way to El Obeid from other parts of the country or simply looted.
Ahlam, a humanitarian worker whose name has also been changed, said residents had become accustomed to pain, loss, and fear from constant drone attacks. 'In just the past two weeks, nearly every essential service and piece of critical infrastructure has been hit,' she said. She added that some people had considered leaving the city, but attacks on fuel stations had driven up prices, making transport much more expensive. She fears devastating consequences if the conflict escalates, noting the already huge number of displaced people in the city.
International Calls for Action
Will Davies, Sudan director at Avaaz, said the drone attacks had created an 'extremely dire' situation in El Obeid. He noted that the city lacked the ethnic dynamics that were a factor in the El Fasher killings and that there was unlikely to be a major ground offensive because 'the evidence isn't there in terms of a force big enough to do it.' Mohamed Badawi, director at the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies, called for a ceasefire and for the international community to push for the creation of safe corridors for people to flee El Obeid.
Broader Conflict and Foreign Involvement
The war began in April 2023 when a power struggle between the SAF headed by Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the RSF led by Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo erupted in violence in the capital, Khartoum. The fighting has killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced many more. It has been fuelled by foreign powers with vested interests who are supporting sides in the conflict. On Monday, the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights and a coalition of civil organisations referred high-level officials based in the UAE, Iran, Turkey, and Egypt to the International Criminal Court 'for aiding and abetting atrocity crimes' in Darfur, accusing them of supplying arms, mercenaries, equipment, financing, and logistical support.
