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AzerNEWS Staff

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The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) has warned that around 500,000 civilians are at risk in El-Obeid, the capital of Sudan's North Kordofan state, as intensifying fighting forces families and children to flee, AzerNEWS reports via UNICEF.

In a statement posted on Saturday, UNICEF said the escalating violence was driving widespread displacement and placing children in increasing danger.

"Intensified fighting in El-Obeid, Sudan, is forcing children and families to be displaced and seek refuge," the agency said, warning that "500,000 civilians are at risk, with children in immediate and growing danger of being killed, injured, displaced, or exposed to other grave violations."

UNICEF called for an immediate de-escalation, stressing that "further escalations must be prevented for children's safety."

El-Obeid was once home to around 500,000 people, but unofficial estimates suggest its population has swelled to nearly three million as it has become a major refuge for people displaced by the conflict elsewhere in Sudan.

The warning comes days after the UN Human Rights Council ordered an urgent investigation into alleged violations and abuses in El-Obeid, citing the imminent risk of large-scale atrocities.

For the past month, the city has reportedly come under repeated drone attacks by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), which have targeted the main power station, fuel facilities and other civilian infrastructure, leaving dozens of people dead or injured.

In May, the UN warned of a sharp increase in drone attacks across the Kordofan region, saying at least 880 civilians had been killed between January and April.

North, West and South Kordofan have witnessed fierce clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF since last October. Sudan has been engulfed in conflict since April 2023, when fighting erupted over plans to integrate the RSF into the national military. The war has since killed tens of thousands of people and displaced an estimated 13 million, creating one of the world's worst humanitarian crises.