The Brief Special Edition: All Eyes on Al-Obeid
Hi friends,
The guiding principle for our coverage of Iran has been to distill a vast amount of media coverage into something understandable and succinct, so you have a strong starting point for finding your own way through the news that follows. This week, however, I want to talk about something I believe has been vastly underreported in mainstream media: the imminent risk of atrocities in al-Obeid, Sudan.
The unfolding situation
Late last fall, we covered the entry of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a Sudanese paramilitary group, into the city of El Fasher following a 500-day siege of the city. Following the takeover, the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan found that the events bore the hallmarks of genocide, including killing members of a targeted ethnic group—specifically, the Zaghawa and Fur communities—and deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about that group’s destruction in whole or in part. The Mission found that the RSF engaged in mass killing, arbitrary detention, widespread rape and sexual violence, torture and cruel treatment, and enforced disappearances.
The RSF is now building up forces around al-Obeid, following days of drone strikes on the city that have targeted fuel stations and trucks. Al-Obeid is one of Sudan’s largest cities, home to approximately 500,000 civilians, and is the capital of its North Kordofan state. Like El Fasher before it, Al-Obeid has been under siege for over 18 months.
What world leaders are saying
The Coalition for Atrocity Prevention and Justice for Sudan presented a statement to the U.N. Human Rights Council last week, noting their grave alarm by the risks of atrocities in Sudan. The group stated, “We call on the Rapid Support Forces to immediately cease their assault on El Obeid. We are deeply concerned at the risk of imminent escalation on the ground, leaving approximately 500,000 civilians at risk of falling victim to large-scale atrocities, including more than 100,000 internally displaced persons.”
The statement also called on “all states to apply maximum pressure on the Rapid Support Forces, Sudanese Armed Forces, and their allies to prevent atrocities and protect civilians.”
The Coalition includes Norway (which delivered the statement), Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sierra Leone, and the United Kingdom, and the statement was also signed by Albania, Andorra, Australia, Austria, Cyprus, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Montenegro, New Zealand, Republic of Moldova, Belgium, Denmark, Romania, Finland, Malta, North Macedonia, Poland, Czechia, Sweden and Spain.
On June 18, the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, issued a statement on the situation, saying, “We have seen this playbook before. We know where it led then, and cannot now allow a repeat of the preventable atrocities we documented in El Fasher and Zamzam IDP camp in North Darfur last year. Civilians are at grave risk in Kordofan, particularly in El Obeid, in the absence of action to halt the imminent offensive and further military escalation…Let this be a stark warning to the world of an impending human rights disaster and worsening humanitarian situation. The States with influence have the duty to exercise it now to stop this madness in its tracks.”
Yesterday, the U.S. State Department released a Press Statement entitled “Threats of Atrocities Around El Obeid by the Rapid Support Forces and Their Allied Forces.” The statement highlighted “alarming indications that mass atrocities could be imminent, further worsening Sudan’s already catastrophic humanitarian crisis,” and called on belligerents to “facilitate safe, rapid, and unhindered humanitarian access, uphold their responsibilities to protect civilians, and take immediate steps to prevent further atrocities.”
In the statement, the United States also committed to “working with our international partners and Sudanese stakeholders to advance a humanitarian truce, secure unhindered humanitarian access, and support a pathway to a civilian transition and durable peace.”
What you can do
Spread awareness
Consider sharing information on the unfolding situation with friends, family, or on social media. The video of Volker Türk’s statement is available here, and it’s less than a minute long.
I’ve also taken down the paywall on this post, so it’s fully public and shareable as well.
Support legislation prohibiting arms sales to the United Arab Emirates and other countries providing materiel support to the RSF
Though the UAE denies it, there is consistent evidence that it is providing military support to the RSF. Most recently, a Human Rights Watch report from May 2026 indicated that a security firm licensed to work for the Emirati government hired Colombian private military contractors who were deployed to Sudan to fight alongside the RSF, including in El Fasher.
U.S. Senator Chris Van Hollen, who has long advocated for U.S. support to end the civil war in Sudan, recently proposed legislative amendments that would prevent arms sales to the UAE and any other country that provides materiel support to the RSF. He stated, “The ongoing violence and dire humanitarian situation on the ground in Sudan demand immediate U.S. action. We should be using all our leverage to help bring this war to an end – and that includes holding accountable those external actors who are aiding and abetting it, most notably the UAE, who have been consistently arming the RSF.”
While the legislative amendments did not advance out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, Senator Van Hollen said that he will continue fighting to pass the legislation. If you live in the U.S., please call your lawmakers today and ask them to support legislation banning arms sales to the UAE; if you live outside the U.S., consider asking your lawmakers to support similar measures.
Also on my radar
- In elections in Colombia on Sunday, far-right candidate Abelardo de la Espriella defeated Senator Iván Cepeda by a narrow margin of approximately 250,000 votes. Cepeda has not yet recognized the results and has said he will challenge the results from 33,000 polling stations. (You can catch up on our prior coverage of the Colombian elections here);
- Following the first round of talks between the U.S. and Iran, U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance has announced that the U.S. will lift sanctions on Iranian oil for 60 days. He also stated that Iran had agreed to allow U.N. inspectors to access its nuclear sites, but (shocker) Iran has cast some doubt on that assertion. A Foreign Ministry spokesperson stated that Iran had made “no new commitments” related to nuclear inspections, and that any inspections would take place under existing procedures. As of the time of this writing, it’s not quite clear what that means. I guess we’ll see!
I’ll try to share helpful links and updates on our socials, so stay tuned, and I’ll see you back here soon.
Alexis