UNICEF warns half a million civilians at risk amid fighting in El-Obeid, Sudan

UNICEF warned Saturday that around half a million civilians are at risk in the Sudanese city of El-Obeid, capital of the North Kordofan state, as intense fighting continues to force families and children to flee.

“Intensified fighting in Al Obeid, Sudan, is forcing children and families to be displaced and seek refuge,” UNICEF said on Facebook.

The UN agency warned that “500,000 civilians are at risk, with children in immediate and growing danger of being killed, injured, displaced, or exposed to other grave violations.”

“Further escalations must be prevented for children’s safety,” it said.

El-Obeid’s population was once estimated at around 500,000 people, but unofficial estimates indicate the number has risen to nearly 3 million as the city has become a major hub for internally displaced people.

On Monday, the UN Human Rights Council ordered an urgent investigation into violations and abuses in El-Obeid, warning of an imminent risk of large-scale atrocities.

For the past month, the city has come under drone attacks by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), targeting the main power station, fuel facilities, and other civilian sites, killing and injuring dozens of people.

On May 12, the UN warned of an escalation in drone attacks across the Kordofan region, saying the strikes had killed at least 880 civilians from January to April.

Sudan’s three Kordofan states-North, West, and South-have witnessed intense fighting between the Sudanese army and the RSF since last October.

Sudan has been engulfed in conflict since 2023, when fighting erupted between the army and the RSF over disagreements on integrating the paramilitary force into the military, leaving tens of thousands dead and displacing around 13 million people.