Thursday, 9 July 2026 | Author: Andrew Michael | File Photo | GT-News |
Civilians trapped in Sudan’s besieged city of El Obeid are being killed in drone strikes and pushed toward starvation as fears grow of a wider assault by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) warned on Thursday.
The aid agency said families in North Kordofan’s capital are enduring repeated attacks on civilian infrastructure while facing severe food shortages, with humanitarian assistance unable to reach many areas for months.
“In El Obeid, families are starving while dodging indiscriminate attacks just to stay alive,” NRC Secretary General Jan Egeland said in a statement. “The world has been warned about this crisis and let it happen anyway.”
According to the United Nations, at least 45 civilians were killed in El Obeid during three weeks in June as drone strikes hit markets, schools, fuel stations, water facilities and vehicles. An aid convoy travelling to the city was also struck last week.
The NRC said the destruction of water infrastructure has left residents queuing for hours to collect often unsafe water, raising fears of cholera and other water-borne diseases as the rainy season begins.
The agency said soaring food prices have forced some families to survive by mixing flour with water to feed their children, while fuel shortages have driven transport costs beyond the reach of many households.
Schools remain open despite the fighting, but repeated attacks have disrupted classes and exposed children to constant violence.
“Children go to school with no water, no electricity and no food, in buildings that cannot protect them from the strikes overhead,” Egeland said, adding that aid workers sometimes deliver assistance at night because daytime has become too dangerous.
The NRC called for the immediate protection of civilians, aid workers and critical infrastructure, including hospitals, schools, markets and water facilities. It also urged the international community to provide emergency funding and press for unrestricted humanitarian access to El Obeid and the wider Kordofan region.
The warning comes amid growing concerns that the city, which has become a refuge for people displaced from other conflict-hit areas including Al Fasher, could face a major ground offensive as Sudan’s war continues to devastate civilians.
