The United Nations’ top human rights official is calling on the world to take action as a new crisis deepens in Sudan, this time centered on the city of al-Obeid in the state of North Kordofan.
Speaking to delegates in Geneva during an emergency session of the U.N. Human Rights Council on Friday, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk delivered a stark warning. “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,” he said.
The emergency session was requested by Britain, whose representative had already raised concerns about the possibility of large-scale atrocities. Those fears stem from reports that Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and their allies have been gathering troops around al-Obeid, raising the risk that the conflict could intensify further.
Turk informed delegates that residents of al-Obeid have been living under siege-like conditions for the past 18 months. Access to clean water has reached a critical shortage, and the city has endured relentless drone strikes as Sudan’s Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces fight for control of the surrounding territory.
Between June 6 and June 28, the U.N. human rights office documented 15 drone strikes in and around al-Obeid. Those strikes killed at least 45 civilians and left 41 others injured.
