Sudan: Army Traps El Obeid Civilians Amid Worsening Humanitarian Crisis

El Obeid, the capital of Sudan’s Kordofan region, which lies between routes linking Khartoum, Kordofan and Darfur, has been at the centre of an information war for several months amid a humanitarian crisis affecting its residents. 

El Obeid is a major military and economic hub in Sudan, making it one of the country’s most strategically important cities.

Its location gives it significant influence over the movement of people, goods and military forces across the country.

The city serves as a key link between Darfur and Kordofan and the capital, Khartoum, as well as other parts of Sudan.

Its position along major transport routes makes it an important corridor for trade and the movement of essential supplies.

However, residents of El Obeid complain of difficulties in obtaining clean water and the unavailability of medicines.

There is also mounting pressure on medical personnel amid shortages of intravenous fluids and other supplies. 

Similarly, Plan International reports that health facilities are receiving cases of acute diarrhea and dehydration daily.

The Organisation has warned that El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan State, is on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe amid a cholera outbreak, a severe 70% drinking-water shortage, and deteriorating health services. 

The crisis comes as the city hosts around 105,000 displaced people. 

In a statement,  Plan International said hundreds of thousands of the city’s residents face growing risks as cholera spreads.

According to the Organisation, key supply sources are taken out of service, and the population has doubled due to displacement. 

The organisation noted that damage to health facilities and sewage networks, coupled with heavy rainfall, has accelerated the spread of the disease.

It warned that conditions could worsen for displaced people as attacks continue to target schools, fuel stations, electricity facilities and markets.

Besides, incidents of sexual violence against women and girls have been reported as they travel to fetch water, with the organisation warning that the continued deterioration of conditions could lead to child deaths from disease and malnutrition. 

Using El Obeid Civilians as Shield

Despite the worsening conditions, the army and allied militias have blocked the city’s exits, leaving civilians trapped inside and putting them at risk of being used as human shields. 

According to Sudanese reports, however, the cordon was primarily aimed at preventing civilians and displaced people from leaving the city, rather than preventing entry. 

Residents were reportedly warned that anyone attempting to leave would face immediate arrest on charges of collaboration or extrajudicial execution, according to the newspaper Hafariyat.

The newspaper described the situation as “a frightening escalation in systematic violations” in residential neighborhoods, including abductions, arbitrary detention in secret prisons, rape and sexual assault against women, and excessive violence aimed at intimidating residents and forcing them to remain in the city.

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Hafariyat said the decision shows that the leadership of the Islamist militias is determined to use hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians as human shields.

According to the newspaper, the militias are deliberately placing civilians on the anticipated front lines of confrontation with the Rapid Support Forces and allied forces. 

The objective of this forced confinement is to use the high population density as a tool of moral and military pressure, turning civilians into fuel for the war and potential victims whose deaths can later be exploited for media purposes.

“The crime does not stop at physically terrorizing the population; it extends to imposing exceptionally harsh living and economic pressures. The closure of roads and control over the movement of transportation and services have brought the flow of essential commodities and medical supplies to an almost complete standstill, resulting in a staggering rise in food prices and widespread shortages,” the newspaper said.

The report said the militia’s actions blatantly defied international warnings, including a strong warning from UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.

Türk stressed the need to protect civilians in El Obeid from any imminent confrontation and open safe corridors to guarantee their freedom of movement and allow them to leave the city.

These warnings, it said, were simply disregarded by the military and Muslim Brotherhood apparatus. 

Forced Recruitment of Civilians

Sudanese reports indicate that the al-Baraa ibn Malik Jihad Battalion, which is allied with the army, continues to forcibly recruit civilians in El Obeid and use them as human shields, in flagrant violation of international humanitarian law. 

At the same time, local sources told the newspaper Idrak that the al-Baraa ibn Malik Battalion had transported weapons described as prohibited into El Obeid, North Kordofan State.

The sources said the operation took place at an undisclosed time, raising fears that the group could be using civilian sites to store the weapons.

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Weapons and Using Civilian Infrastructure for Militry Activities

According to the sources, the group transported the weapons into the city as part of military arrangements and used several locations to store and deploy them.

These locations reportedly included buildings at the Faculty of Education in the Al-Radeef neighborhood, research facilities at the University of Kordofan, and other sites in western El Obeid.

The sources explained that these sites are being used for activities of a military nature, raising widespread concern over the safety of civilians and surrounding facilities, particularly amid the continuing security tensions in the area.

They stressed that using educational facilities and civilian infrastructure for military purposes could expose residents and infrastructure to serious risks and further worsen the humanitarian and security situation in the city.

The development comes amid a massive media campaign by the Sudanese army, backed by elements affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, to draw international and domestic attention to El Obeid by promoting claims of an imminent attack.

Observers say the campaign forms part of a security strategy to conceal suspicious military movements on other vital fronts and use civilians as media fodder and human shields in a conflict that increasingly relies on misinformation rather than the balance of power on the ground.

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