'No safe options' for thousands sheltering in key Sudan city as RSF fighters advance

What the report says

BBC Africa reports that thousands of displaced people who sought safety in el-Obeid, an army-held city in Sudan’s North Kordofan region, are again at risk as the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces advance nearby. The city has become a major refuge for civilians fleeing fighting in surrounding areas, according to the UN’s International Organization for Migration, while satellite images reviewed by BBC Verify indicate a large displacement camp has grown markedly since March.

The report says international concern has intensified because the UN and G7 foreign ministers have warned that the RSF may be preparing an assault on el-Obeid. Those warnings are shaped by fears of a repeat of atrocities reported after the RSF overran el-Fasher last October. BBC Verify says footage places armed RSF fighters and vehicles in and around Nyala, with some fighters threatening to move on el-Obeid; recent material located by the outlet placed fighters within 40km of the city.

Humanitarian conditions are also worsening. The UN estimates more than 83,000 civilians have fled other parts of North Kordofan into el-Obeid, and nearly 400,000 people in the area face food shortages. BBC reports that aid groups cite disrupted supply routes, halted aid flights, drone attacks on infrastructure and continuing fuel shortages, though one Islamic Relief-linked humanitarian worker said a recent decline in strikes had allowed more aid distribution and partial power restoration.

El-Obeid matters strategically because it links RSF-held western areas with military-held central Sudan and White Nile regions. BBC reports that the Sudanese military appears to be strengthening defenses around the city and says it has secured a key road to Khartoum, while RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo has urged fighters to push forward.