The United Nations Security Council has called on the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan to refrain from launching an attack on the city of El-Obeid. On Saturday, the Council voiced deep concern over the "imminent risk of mass atrocities" in Sudan as RSF forces advance towards El-Obeid in the Kordofan region.

El-Obeid, strategically located connecting central and western Sudan, has been encircled by the RSF for several months. "The members of the Security Council expressed concern at the imminent risk of mass atrocities and demanded the RSF immediately halt its assault on El-Obeid," a Council statement said.

The statement highlighted reports of escalating fighting in the Kordofan states, warning it risks exacerbating what the UN described as an "already dire humanitarian situation." The RSF and the Sudanese army have been locked in a bloody civil war for control of the country since April 2023.

The UN has called the conflict the world's largest displacement and hunger crisis. Tens of thousands have been killed and over 11 million people displaced. Nearly half of Sudan's population faces food insecurity.

The Security Council statement follows UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' call on Thursday for the international community to urge Sudan's warring parties to prevent further bloodshed. "We must not allow the horrors of El Fasher to be repeated in El Obeid," Guterres said, referring to the RSF's capture of the city in the Darfur region last year. More than 6,000 people were killed in El Fasher over three days, according to UN human rights estimates. The UN said the takeover bore "hallmarks of genocide."

Source: www.dw.com