UN agecies warn Sudan’s El Obeid faces risk of siege and atrocities

July 3, 2026 (KHARTOUM) – United Nations officials warned on Friday that the strategic Sudanese city of El Obeid risks becoming the site of mass atrocities, echoing a deadly siege that devastated the Darfur city of El Fasher last year.

Speaking at a briefing in Geneva, representatives from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) raised alarms over escalating drone strikes, rising displacement, and targeted attacks on humanitarian aid.

The number of newly displaced people across the Kordofan region has surged by nearly two-thirds in just three months, according to Zoe Brennan of the IOM. The agency documented more than 100 displacement-triggering incidents in less than nine months, averaging one major incident every two to three days.

An estimated 500,000 people are currently stranded in El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state, where paramilitary forces have advanced. Aid workers have been unable to reach the trapped population, who face acute shortages of water and electricity amid regular strikes on civilian infrastructure.

“There is concern that El Obeid could become the next El Fasher,” said Mohamed Refaat, the IOM Chief of Mission for Sudan, speaking from Port Sudan. “They have been stranded for months now. If action is not taken now, there will be a repeat of what happened in El Fasher.”

Refaat stated that the IOM’s resources are completely depleted, particularly for emergency shelter and food items. He criticized international trends that reduce humanitarian funding while defense spending rises, calling instead for a clear investment in peace from member states.

The warnings come amid deteriorating security for aid operations. On July 1, a UNHCR truck carrying 50 metric tonnes of relief items, including blankets, solar lamps, and kitchen sets, was destroyed in a drone strike in Tendelti, located in White Nile state.

UNHCR spokesperson Eujin Byun said the driver survived the attack, but the entire consignment was lost. The incident marks the second time this year that a UNHCR vehicle has been struck in Sudan.

“This reflects a deeply worrying trend of attacks affecting civilians,” Byun said, calling for guaranteed safe and secure humanitarian access across the country.

The UN described Sudan as the second most deadly environment globally for humanitarian workers, as aid agencies struggle to maintain logistics routes under the threat of deliberate bombardment.