Geneva, Switzerland. The United Nations human rights chief warned on Friday that another human rights catastrophe is unfolding in Sudan around the besieged city of al-Obeid, citing a pattern of atrocities and urging international action.
Warning over al-Obeid
Al-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state, has become a focus of recent fighting in the war between Sudan’s army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, which began more than three years ago and has triggered a major humanitarian crisis.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said civilians in al-Obeid had faced siege-like conditions for 18 months, including critical shortages of clean water and relentless drone strikes.
Reports of abuses
Speaking during a debate at the U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva, Turk said his office had documented patterns of summary executions, abductions, torture and sexual violence along routes used by displaced people across the Kordofan region.
He warned against a repeat of the widespread atrocities that took place in al-Fashir in North Darfur last year.
“The signs from al-Obeid are clear and unmistakable: Another human rights catastrophe is unfolding in Sudan, this time in the capital of the strategic state of North Kordofan,” Turk said.
International concern
The session was called by Britain, whose envoy had previously warned that up to 500,000 civilians were at risk of large-scale atrocities as the Rapid Support Forces reportedly massed forces around al-Obeid.
Al-Obeid is one of Sudan’s largest cities and has served as a refuge for people displaced from other conflict areas.
Drone strikes and war crimes allegations
The war in Sudan has increasingly been marked by drone strikes, which often result in civilian casualties.
According to the U.N. human rights office, at least 45 civilians were killed and 41 injured in 15 drone strikes in al-Obeid and surrounding areas between June 6 and 28.
Human rights groups have documented alleged war crimes by both sides in the conflict. The Rapid Support Forces has also been accused of repeated atrocities and ethnic violence, including in Darfur in western Sudan.
