International Calls for Urgent UN Discussion on Sudan’s El Obeid

The United Nations Human Rights Council has received a request to hold an urgent discussion on the situation in the Sudanese city of El Obeid, where military tensions are escalating. At the same time, dozens of organizations have called on the parties to the conflict in Sudan to immediately declare a comprehensive and unconditional humanitarian ceasefire across the country.

Speaking on Tuesday, Pascal Sim, spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Council, said that the discussion on El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan State in western Sudan, could take place on Friday.

The request, submitted by several countries including the United Kingdom and Germany, follows reports that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied groups are massing forces around El Obeid, raising concerns that the conflict could further escalate.

Since mid-April 2023, Sudan has been engulfed in conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). The war has claimed tens of thousands of lives, displaced millions of people, and all efforts to reach a peaceful settlement have so far failed due to the differing positions of the two sides.

The United Nations has described the conflict as the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. Nearly 12 million people have been displaced by the fighting, while around half of Sudan’s population is struggling to access adequate food.