KHARTOUM / Adil Abdel Rahim / Anadolu

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said Saturday that 500,000 civilians are at risk in the city of El Obeid, capital of North Kordofan state, southern Sudan, due to fighting that is forcing families and children to flee and seek refuge.

UNICEF added in a post on its account on the American platform Facebook: 'The intense fighting in El Obeid, North Kordofan state, is forcing children and families to flee and seek refuge.'

It reported that '500,000 civilians are at risk, and children are at immediate and increasing risk of being killed, injured, displaced, or subjected to other serious violations.'

It stressed that 'further escalation must be prevented for the safety of children.'

The original population of El Obeid is about 500,000 people, but this number has doubled because the city has become a hub for displaced persons, with unofficial estimates indicating that about 3 million people currently reside there.

On Monday, the United Nations Human Rights Council decided to conduct an urgent investigation into violations and abuses in El Obeid, warning of an imminent risk of widespread atrocities.

For a month, El Obeid has been witnessing drone attacks by the Rapid Support Forces, targeting the main power station, fuel stations, and other civilian sites, resulting in dozens killed and injured.

On May 12, last year, the United Nations warned of escalating drone attacks in Kordofan, saying the strikes had killed at least 880 civilians during the period from January to April 2026.

The three states of the Kordofan region (North, West, and South) have been witnessing fierce clashes between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces since October 25 of last year.

The humanitarian crisis in Sudan is worsening due to the war between the army and the Rapid Support Forces, ongoing since April 2023 due to a disagreement over the unification of the military institution, which has left tens of thousands dead and about 13 million displaced.