- UK and allies call on all parties to immediately halt attack and protect civilians to avoid further bloodshed
- Foreign Secretary warns El Obeid on “precipice of atrocity” amid escalating violence
- UN Security Council says there will be no impunity for those committing war crimes
UK and allies are deeply concerned over continued Rapid Support Forces (RSF) drone attacks targeting civilian infrastructure in El Obeid, Sudan. The UK, alongside France, Germany, Netherlands, Ireland, Italy, and Norway have released a joint statement calling for an immediate halt to escalating violence in El Obeid, Sudan.
In the past 24 hours, drone strikes and attacks on critical civilian infrastructure have continued to escalate. Key supply routes across North Kordofan and White Nile states have been hit, alongside fuel stations and electricity lines, cutting off access to basic services for over 500,000 people – including 200,000 internally displaced people already forced to flee elsewhere in Sudan.
The fighting has already caused huge numbers of civilian casualties and is raising urgent fears of a major escalation and a heightened risk of atrocities.
Foreign Secretary, Yvette Cooper, said:
“Last year, the world watched in horror as the Rapid Support Forces raped, pillaged, and murdered their way through El Fasher – leaving nothing but devastation and death in their wake. This cannot be repeated.
“El Obeid is on the precipice of an atrocity that will deepen the wounds already inflicted on Sudan in El Fasher.
“I’ve met survivors of El Fasher, haunted by the trauma they went through. We cannot let this happen again.”
The UK and allies have warned that as rainy season approaches, continued attacks on fuel infrastructure risk worsening food shortages and plunging the region into darkness due to limited electricity supplies. The Foreign Secretary has also made clear that any human rights violations in El Obeid will weaken the pathway to a credible political process and lasting peace.
Today’s joint statement follows on-going support from the UK, working closely with several other countries, to establish a path out of the conflict.
The UK has also galvanised support for Sudan at the United Nations Security Council to mobilise international efforts to bring the war to an end. On 20 June, the UK worked closely with partners on the UN Security Council to raise the alarm over the fraught situation at El Obeid, pressing for the warring parties to end the fighting, to protect civilians, and for unimpeded humanitarian access.
The UK continues to engage with international partners, urging those with influence to press the RSF to pull back and bring all parties to the negotiating table. The Foreign Secretary has personally raised this with counterparts in Egypt during her recent visit to Cairo, as well as with partners in the UAE and the United States.
In April, during the International Sudan Conference in Berlin, the UK announced £146 million in humanitarian support for Sudan, increased funding for local aid groups to £15 million, and doubled funding to groups who document and investigate human rights violations.
ENDS
Notes to Editor.
- The United Kingdom and E4+ deliver a joint statement on the situation in El Obeid, Sudan. Full text below:
We, the Foreign Ministers of like-minded partners (France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, UK), are deeply concerned by reports of a continued assault on El Obeid, despite calls for a halt to the attack and protection of civilians.
Last year, the world witnessed with horror the atrocities in El Fasher – crimes that are assessed to bear the “hallmarks of genocide”. We must not allow such failures to be repeated.
In recent weeks, repeated drone strikes on El Obeid have killed civilians and driven acute shortages of fuel, food and water. With the rainy season fast approaching, humanitarian workers continue to provide life-saving assistance but are being deliberately targeted.
There are now credible signs of an imminent offensive. This is a critical moment, and the international community must act.
We call on the RSF to halt its attack immediately. Civilians must be able to leave safely, and all parties must ensure rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access. The RSF and the SAF, and their allies, must de-escalate, uphold international humanitarian law, and honour their commitments under the Jeddah Declaration.
External support continues to sustain this conflict. We call on those fuelling the conflict to cease, and those with influence must exercise it now to avoid further bloodshed.
We will continue to work closely at the UN Security Council and with regional and international partners to secure a clear and unified response: the violence must end, civilians must be protected, and those responsible must be held to account. We remain committed to supporting a credible path to peace through the Quintet-led process and call on all parties to engage in good faith.
