‘The situation is terrible’: aid workers on life in Sudanese city pummelled by drone strikes

Drone strikes disrupt daily life in Sudan's El Obeid, aid groups warn of unfolding catastrophe

Sudan's city of El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan State, is facing a wave of drone strikes that are disrupting daily life, targeting fuel stations, power supplies and water infrastructure, according to multiple reports. The army says it remains in control of the strategic city, while the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continue attacks aimed at weakening its position and pressuring civilians to leave, as reported by Al Jazeera and the BBC.

At least 45 people were killed and 41 injured in 15 drone strikes in the city and surrounding areas between 6 and 28 June, according to the UN human rights office, as cited by the BBC and The Guardian. The UN human rights chief, Volker Türk, warned of an impending human rights catastrophe in Sudan, saying the signs from El Obeid were "clear and unmistakable." Türk also noted that the city has been under siege-like conditions for 18 months, with summary executions, abductions, torture and sexual violence taking place along routes used by people fleeing the conflict, the BBC reported.

A 27-year-old university student, whose name was withheld for her safety, told the BBC she was at a crowded fuel station when a drone struck without warning. "In front of us there were injured people, blood, burnt cars, and smashed cars," she said. She sustained shrapnel injuries to her leg and hand. Another resident, an aid volunteer named Fatima (also a pseudonym), described the attacks as the most violent so far, saying drones hit schools and fuel stations, killing more than 20 people, including students. "Over the past few months, seeing 40 or 45 drones is the norm," she said, as quoted by The Guardian.

The RSF's current siege of El Obeid has been described as "strategic and methodical," with drones first targeting fuel stations and then electrical generators, effectively making life unbearable for civilians and driving them to evacuate, according to an analysis by Ayin, as carried by AllAfrica. El Obeid has a population of roughly half a million, including between 100,000 and 200,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs) who have already fled violence in other parts of Sudan, AllAfrica reported. One resident told Ayin that the apparent objective of these attacks is to undermine basic services that civilians depend on.

Despite the constant drone activity, residents remain resilient. "I work as a trader in the market and we're still here," one local resident said, as quoted by AllAfrica. "We haven't stopped working despite the constant drone activity, day and night." The same resident recalled that during an earlier siege, the city endured seven months without electricity, water or telecommunications, yet its residents persevered.

El Obeid is strategically significant for both sides, lying between RSF-controlled areas in the west and army-controlled regions in the east, explained Nathaniel Raymond, executive director of Yale University's Humanitarian Research Lab, in an interview with the BBC. "If you control el-Obeid, you control the road to the capital, Khartoum and [its twin city] Omdurman, and so the army has to defend el-Obeid," he said.

There are growing fears of a repeat of the massacre in El Fasher last year, when RSF fighters went on a rampage after capturing the city at the end of an 18-month siege, The Guardian reported. Amnesty International released a report saying the RSF had committed ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity in its campaign to capture El Fasher, and an independent fact-finding mission for the UN had already said the RSF's seizure of the city showed the "hallmarks of genocide" against non-Arab communities, The Guardian added. Türk addressed delegates in Geneva during an urgent debate called by the UK and backed by Germany, Ireland, Norway and the Netherlands, The Guardian reported.

Perspectives

• Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF): The army says it remains in control of El Obeid and is fighting to stop the RSF setting up another blockade, according to Al Jazeera.

• Rapid Support Forces (RSF): The RSF is not directly quoted in the provided coverage, but their actions are described as strategic and methodical by AllAfrica, targeting infrastructure to make life unbearable for civilians.

• UN and humanitarian observers: UN human rights chief Volker Türk and Yale's Nathaniel Raymond warn of an unfolding human rights catastrophe and the strategic importance of the city, as reported by the BBC and The Guardian.