There were reports that the RSF had attacked military-controlled El Obeid, and it emerged that the militia was planning to launch an attack on the main city.
Published November 5, 2025
Forty people were killed in an attack on a funeral in El Obeid, the main city in Sudan’s North Kordofan state, the United Nations said.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said on Tuesday, citing local sources, that the attack occurred in the state capital, which is still occupied by the Sudanese government-backed armed forces (SAF), without saying when it took place or who was behind it.
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Reports of the attack emerged as the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) appeared ready to launch an attack on the city, and military units massed to repel them.
“The security situation in the Kordofan region continues to deteriorate,” OCHA said. “Once again, we call for an immediate cessation of hostilities and for all parties to protect civilians and respect international humanitarian law.”
Fighting in the oil-rich region has intensified, with thousands of people taking refuge in El Obeid after the RSF recaptured the city of Barra, about 60 kilometers (60 kilometers) north, from southern forces last week.
In parallel, the RSF took control of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, after the withdrawal of the SAF. According to the United Nations, more than 70,000 people have been evacuated from the city and surrounding areas since the RSF took over.
Witnesses and human rights groups have reported incidents including “summary executions,” sexual violence, and massacres of civilians.
Nathaniel Raymond, executive director of the Institute for Humanitarian Studies at the Yale School of Public Health, told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that RSF “started digging mass graves and collecting bodies across the city.”
United Nations officials also warned this week that thousands of people are believed to be trapped in El Fasher.
A devastating civil war erupted in 2023, with a power struggle between the RSF and SAF leading to fighting in the capital, Khartoum.
Since then, the RSF has taken control of more than a third of the country in the conflict, which has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced 12 million people, nearly a quarter of the population, making it the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, according to the United Nations.
Sudan’s Defense Minister Hassan Kabraun said on Tuesday that the SAF would continue fighting the RSF after the country’s Security and Defense Council met to discuss a ceasefire proposal from the United States.
