Key facts
- The UN Human Rights Council will hold an urgent debate on the situation in Sudan's al-Obeid.
- The request for the debate was submitted by countries including Britain and Germany.
- Aid groups have warned that the city is at risk of an imminent ground offensive by the RSF and its allies.
- 38 NGOs, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, issued an open letter calling for action.
- The NGOs urged the council to convene an urgent debate and send a fact-finding mission.
The United Nations Human Rights Council has received a request for an urgent debate concerning the situation in al-Obeid, Sudan, with the discussion anticipated to occur on Friday. This request follows reports of paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their allies amassing troops around the city, raising fears of an escalation in the ongoing conflict.
Thirty-eight aid and civil society groups, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, issued an open letter urging the UN Human Rights Council to take decisive action to prevent potential atrocities. They highlighted credible reports indicating that al-Obeid, which has endured 18 months of siege-like conditions, is at risk of an imminent ground offensive by the RSF and allied forces. The NGOs called for an urgent debate, the dispatch of an independent UN fact-finding mission to investigate the situation, and accountability for all violations committed during the conflict.
The letter also called for the unequivocal condemnation of external actors supporting the warring parties, specifically mentioning the United Arab Emirates, which Khartoum has accused of supplying arms to the RSF, a charge the UAE denies. The conflict in Sudan, which began in April 2023, has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and displaced over 12 million people, according to UN figures. The UN has previously expressed concerns that the situation in al-Obeid could mirror the atrocities seen during the RSF's assault on el-Fasher, which bore "hallmarks of genocide."