UN Warns of El Fasher-Style Atrocity Risk in Besieged El Obeid as Cholera, Drone Strikes Intensify

United Nations experts warned on August 7, 2026 of a new risk of large-scale atrocities in el-Obeid, North Kordofan's capital, drawing a parallel to the RSF's 2025 massacre of an estimated 6,000 civilians after the fall of El Fasher. Hundreds of thousands of civilians in the besieged city face near-constant drone strikes — residents report as many as 40 drones overhead at once — alongside a worsening cholera outbreak, critical water shortages driven by damaged infrastructure and power cuts, and high rates of reported sexual violence against women and girls. The International NGO Safety Organisation recorded North Kordofan as the state with the highest number of drone attacks in Sudan in 2026. UN and partner agencies have delivered roughly two million litres of drinking water to about 133,000 people, but OCHA said limited humanitarian access and acute water scarcity continue to hamper the response; the 2026 Humanitarian Response Plan remains less than a third funded.