UN relief chief warns Sudan's El Obeid risks becoming 'another El Fasher'

The UN's humanitarian chief warned on Tuesday that escalating drone attacks in Sudan's North Kordofan region risk plunging the city of El Obeid into a crisis similar to that seen in El Fasher.

"I am again sounding the alarm on the escalating violence and rapidly deteriorating humanitarian situation in Sudan's North Kordofan region. We cannot allow El Obeid to become another El Fasher," said Tom Fletcher in a statement.

Fletcher said, "Intensifying drone attacks are killing civilians across the region, and the risk of deeper human suffering is rising," with hundreds of thousands of people in El Obeid, including many displaced by fighting elsewhere.

He added that the strikes are disrupting access to drinking water and electricity, raising the risk of cholera and other waterborne diseases as the rainy season approaches.

He called for "an immediate end to attacks, including drone attacks, on populated areas and critical civilian infrastructure," stressing that civilians who wish to leave El Obeid must be able to do so safely, while those who remain must be protected and have access to essentials for survival.

"Too often in this brutal war, clear warnings have been ignored. Civilians have paid the price," Fletcher said, adding: "We cannot say we were not warned."

Sudan has been engulfed in conflict since April 2023, when fighting erupted between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces over plans to integrate the paramilitary force into the military. The war has triggered one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, killing tens of thousands and displacing nearly 13 million.