UN Warning: Sudan War Spiraling Out of Control

Sudan Events – Agencies

The United Nations has warned that the war in Sudan is “spiraling out of control,” a day after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) overran the city of El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State. The warning comes amid rising violence and tension in North Kordofan, where both the Sudanese army and the RSF continue to amass troops in total disregard of a ceasefire proposal put forward by the United States and the Quad mechanism, which also includes Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates.

The city of El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan and held by the Sudanese army, witnessed a deadly attack believed to have been carried out by the RSF in its attempt to seize control of this strategic city. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), about 40 people were killed and several others injured in the assault during a funeral gathering on Wednesday. While OCHA did not attribute responsibility, observers suggested that the RSF was likely behind the attack—though the group neither confirmed nor denied involvement.

El-Obeid is a critical junction connecting Khartoum to the Darfur region, which fell largely under RSF control last week following their capture of El-Fasher, the army’s last major stronghold in the region. The city is one of Sudan’s largest and most important urban centers, serving as a logistical and command hub and a vital supply route. It hosts the country’s biggest cash crop market and the world’s largest gum arabic exchange. A key oil pipeline runs through the city, linking the south to Port Sudan on the Red Sea. The UN Mission in Sudan also operates its main logistics base there. Known to Sudanese as the “Bride of the Sands,” El-Obeid holds both symbolic and strategic significance.

Late last month, the RSF announced its capture of the town of Bara, north of El-Obeid, calling it “a major step toward completing control over key areas across the Kordofan region.”

Mounting Security Concerns

UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned that the “catastrophic crisis” in Sudan “is spiraling out of control.” He noted that “for more than 18 months, El-Fasher and surrounding areas in North Darfur have been an epicenter of suffering, hunger, violence, and displacement,” adding that “since the RSF entered the city last week, the situation has deteriorated by the day.”

Guterres said hundreds of thousands of civilians are trapped under siege in El-Fasher, with people dying from malnutrition, disease, and violence. He cited ongoing reports of violations of international humanitarian and human rights law, including indiscriminate attacks, the targeting of civilians and civilian infrastructure such as hospitals, and “horrific incidents of gender-based and ethnically motivated violence, as well as credible reports of mass executions since the RSF’s entry into the city.”

The UN humanitarian coordination office also warned that “the security situation in Kordofan continues to deteriorate.” Suleiman Babiker, a resident of Umm Sumaymah west of El-Obeid, reported an increase in RSF vehicle movements following their capture of El-Fasher. “We have stopped going to our farms for fear of clashes,” he told Agence France-Presse. Another resident, who requested anonymity for security reasons, also reported “a major increase in army vehicles and weapons east and south of El-Obeid” in recent weeks.

UN Assistant Secretary-General for Africa Martha Pobee said last week that the RSF had committed “widespread atrocities” in Bara, North Kordofan, citing “revenge attacks against those labeled as collaborators with the army, often driven by ethnic motives.”

The RSF’s expanding control across Darfur and Kordofan risks effectively dividing Sudan into eastern and western spheres of influence, with the army maintaining control over the country’s north and east.

Famine Looms Over Civilians

In South Kordofan, a new report from the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC), backed by the United Nations, confirmed that famine has already taken hold in Kadugli, a city besieged by the RSF for months as it seeks to wrest control from the army.

The same report, released this week, also confirmed famine conditions in El-Fasher, North Darfur, warning that 20 other towns across Darfur and Kordofan are at imminent risk of starvation.

According to the findings, more than 21 million people faced high levels of acute food insecurity as of September, and the situation is projected to persist—if not worsen—through at least May 2026.