The European Union has warned that civilians in El Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan, face an imminent risk of mass atrocities as the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) prepare a ground and air offensive, and urged the RSF to halt the assault immediately. In a statement delivered on 12 July 2026 during an urgent debate at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, the EU said El Obeid stands on the brink after more than eighteen months of siege-like conditions, and that patterns of atrocity documented by the UN Fact-Finding Mission in El Fasher and the Zamzam camp — including extrajudicial executions, ethnically targeted killings, abductions, and widespread sexual and gender-based violence — must not be repeated.
The statement, delivered by the EU Delegation to the UN in Geneva, was aligned with Albania, Liechtenstein, North Macedonia, Moldova and Montenegro. The EU called on all parties to cease hostilities and respect international humanitarian law, stressing that attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure such as power stations, water supplies, hospitals, and humanitarian convoys may amount to war crimes. The EU placed primary responsibility for the war on the leadership of both the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF and their affiliated militias, as well as on external actors supplying weapons or other support, which it said must cease immediately in line with the Berlin Principles for Sudan. The EU reiterated its commitment to advocate for expanding both the International Criminal Court mandate and the UN arms embargo to the whole of Sudan.
working with Quintet partners (African Union, UN, IGAD, League of Arab States) to advance an immediate ceasefire and an inclusive political process building on the Joint Call adopted in Berlin; pledging EUR 812 million at the Sudan Conference in Berlin in April, more than half of the EUR 1.5 billion mobilised by international donors; pursuing concrete work on protection of critical infrastructure through the EU Special Representative for the Horn of Africa; and expanding restrictive measures to target those who profit from the war. The EU also reaffirmed its commitment to Sudan's sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity.
The statement was delivered on 3 July 2026 in Geneva, though published by the EEAS on 12 July 2026. The EU's intervention comes as the international community seeks to prevent a repeat of the atrocities seen in Darfur and El Fasher, with the EU urging states with influence to exercise it now.