Footage from the Sudanese city of el-Obeid, published by the nonpartisan Ayin Network, shows flattened houses and rubble where schools once stood, highlighting the severe impact of ongoing drone attacks by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF). These strikes have caused extensive damage to civilian infrastructure, including power grids, water treatment plants, schools, universities, and hospitals in North Kordofan's capital.

Ahmed Awad, a native of el-Obeid and project manager for children's rights organization Plan International, described the dire conditions faced by the local population. The city, previously home to half a million people, now shelters several hundred thousand displaced individuals under siege. There is a critical shortage of medical supplies, food, and safe drinking water. Awad recounted seeing long lines at a single water pump, where people sometimes spend an entire day to collect just one liter of water sufficient for two or three days, often sending children and teenagers to fetch it.

The psychological toll on children is profound. Awad relayed a mother's account of her three children unable to sleep due to constant fear of renewed attacks. Many children encountered by aid workers refused to speak afterward, underscoring the trauma endured.

Residents fear a repeat of the devastating scenario from October 2025 in el-Fasher, North Darfur, where the RSF bombed infrastructure before storming the city after an 18-month siege. Numerous human rights organizations issued a joint appeal warning that escalation could lead to a recurrence of the horrific abuses documented in Al-Fashir.

Pekka Haavisto, the UN chief's personal envoy for Sudan, expressed alarm in June over the ongoing hostilities and frequent drone strikes around el-Obeid. Reports from the Sudan Tribune indicate that as RSF fighters retreated, they looted markets and villages in North Kordofan and committed human rights violations against local residents.

The situation in el-Obeid exemplifies the worsening humanitarian crisis amid Sudan's civil war, with children’s safety and access to education severely compromised by the conflict.

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