RSF Drone Attacks Kill 50 in El-Obeid as 500,000 Face Catastrophe
Updated
Updated · Al Jazeera English · Jul 6
RSF Drone Attacks Kill 50 in El-Obeid as 500,000 Face Catastrophe
3 articles · Updated · Al Jazeera English · Jul 6
Summary
Ten straight days of RSF drone strikes have killed at least 50 civilians across El-Obeid and North Kordofan, hitting the city’s power station and other civilian infrastructure.
About 500,000 people — including 105,000 displaced residents — are now trapped in siege-like conditions as blackouts, water disruptions and fuel shortages cripple hospitals and daily life.
El-Obeid is a strategic gateway between RSF-held Darfur and army-controlled eastern areas; if it falls, the army would lose a key supply route, airbase hub and foothold in Kordofan.
Food prices in the city have surged up to 300% and water prices have doubled, while aid access has shrunk and residents increasingly rely on wells and tanks outside the city.
UN officials and a 28-country coalition say El-Obeid risks repeating El-Fasher, where an 18-month RSF siege ended in massacres that Amnesty called ethnic cleansing and UN investigators said bore hallmarks of genocide.
After El Fasher's massacre, is the world watching another foreseen atrocity unfold as drones terrorize the city of El Obeid?
Foreign powers are arming Sudan's factions. Can targeting these international backers finally halt the world's worst displacement crisis?
Could designating Sudan's RSF as a terrorist group sever its foreign support and finally force an end to the brutal war?
33 Million Sudanese in Peril: Drone Strikes, Siege, and the Global Response to the 2026 Crisis
Overview
In June 2026, El Obeid in Sudan faced a severe crisis as relentless drone strikes and a tightening siege pushed its civilians to the brink. This escalation is part of the broader conflict that began in 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, which has already displaced over 13 million people and left millions facing famine. Humanitarian access remains severely restricted, and international bodies have warned that El Obeid could experience atrocities similar to those in El Fasher. The situation highlights the urgent need for humanitarian intervention and protection for civilians trapped by the ongoing violence.