July 5, 2026 – The besieged Sudanese city of El Obeid is under a relentless assault from drone strikes that aid workers describe as the most brutal yet in the country's grinding civil war. As of this weekend, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have escalated their campaign to capture the strategic hub, unleashing waves of unmanned aerial attacks that have turned schools and fuel stations into charred killing fields. "The situation is terrible," one aid volunteer told reporters, speaking on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal. "Over the past few months, seeing 40 or 45 drones is the norm. You can literally count them."
The latest barrage, which peaked over the July 4th weekend, killed more than 20 people, including students caught in a strike on a local school. The United Nations human rights office has documented at least 45 deaths and 41 injuries from 15 separate drone strikes between June 6 and June 28 alone. With El Obeid's population of half a million now hosting roughly 100,000 displaced refugees, the city has become a pressure cooker. The RSF, already accused by Amnesty International of ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity in last year's capture of El Fasher, appears to be using the same scorched-earth tactics here.
On Friday, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk issued a stark warning during an emergency session in Geneva, convened by the UK and backed by Germany, Ireland, Norway, and the Netherlands. "The signs from El Obeid are clear and unmistakable: another human rights catastrophe is unfolding in Sudan," Turk said. "This is not a drill. It is a red alert that needs to land on the desks of heads of state and government around the world. Their phones should be running hot."
The strategic importance of El Obeid cannot be overstated. Located at the crossroads between RSF-held Darfur and army-controlled eastern Sudan, the city is the Sudanese Armed Forces' (SAF) last major defensive line. If the RSF captures El Obeid, they will effectively sever the army's supply routes and establish a blockade far more devastating than the siege of February 2025. Aid agencies fear a repeat of the El Fasher massacre, where RSF fighters went on a rampage after an 18-month siege, leaving thousands dead. An independent UN fact-finding mission has already stated that the RSF's seizure of El Fasher bore the "hallmarks of genocide" against non-Arab communities.
As the drones continue to hum overhead, the international community is scrambling to respond. But for the citizens of El Obeid and the aid workers on the ground, each day brings a new count of the dead and a grim calculation of survival. "You can literally count them," the volunteer repeated, looking up at the sky. "And you know the next one is coming for you."