Sudan’s civilians trapped by drone attacks and mass arrests as war spreads nationwide

The report, “Sudan’s Unrelenting War: Civilian Devastation and Deepening Insecurity in El Obeid,” describes a city where attacks and repression are narrowing people’s chances of finding safety.

Civilians in Sudan's El Obeid face growing dangers from drone attacks, disrupted basic services and arbitrary arrests, according to a new report by the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan. The strategic city remains partially encircled by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), leaving residents exposed to strikes that damage homes and infrastructure essential to daily life. Security forces affiliated with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have expanded surveillance and detention campaigns, deepening fear among people already struggling with violence and severe deprivation.

The report, "Sudan's Unrelenting War: Civilian Devastation and Deepening Insecurity in El Obeid," describes a city where attacks and repression are narrowing people's chances of finding safety. Drone strikes attributed to the RSF have killed and injured civilians, damaged schools and displacement sites, and disrupted healthcare, electricity and water supplies. The Mission warned that repeated attacks affecting residential neighbourhoods and civilian facilities may amount to war crimes.

Investigators are examining deadly attacks in Blue Nile State, a drone strike in Abyei that reportedly killed scores of civilians, and assaults near the Sudan-Egypt border that reportedly killed dozens of artisanal miners. Mission chair Mohamed Chande Othman said these incidents reflect a conflict spreading across a wider area and becoming more technologically sophisticated and dangerous for civilians. He warned that the situation around El Obeid remains grave, with a high risk of atrocities and restrictions on fundamental freedoms making everyday life increasingly difficult.

Drone warfare puts essential services and civilian neighbourhoods at risk

The deployment of SAF personnel and allied forces in residential neighbourhoods has increased the foreseeable danger of attacks on civilians, the report found. Damage to electricity networks, water facilities, hospitals, schools and displacement sites can affect entire communities far beyond the immediate location of a strike. Mission expert Joy Ngozi Ezeilo said those consequences can continue long after an attack, leaving residents struggling to obtain essential services.

Humanitarian operations have faced obstruction from the SAF, the RSF and their allies through attacks, administrative barriers, militarisation and restrictions on reaching people in need. These constraints compound the deprivation experienced by civilians trapped in areas affected by fighting. The Mission called for rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access, alongside protection for civilians and the infrastructure supporting their survival.

Arrests and torture allegations deepen fear in El Obeid

In El Obeid, a city of about 600,000 people, human rights defenders, aid workers, lawyers, trade unionists and community leaders face surveillance, threats and arbitrary detention. Civilians perceived as critical of the authorities have faced similar treatment, with investigators receiving credible accounts of incommunicado detention, torture, ill-treatment and deaths in custody. Allegations of sexual violence against female detainees form part of the reported abuse, which the Mission said may amount to war crimes.

Mission expert Mona Rishmawi said thousands had been arrested by SAF security cells and subjected to detention and torture in unofficial facilities and El Obeid Central Prison under appalling conditions. People have faced reprisals over perceived disloyalty or civic engagement, including support for human rights and peace efforts. The Mission demanded an immediate end to these practices and access for independent detention monitors, warning that repression weakens accountability, civilian protection and prospects for inclusive Sudanese dialogue.

El Fasher's devastation underscores calls for accountability

The report comes one year after the RSF and affiliated actors took over El Fasher and surrounding areas, where the Mission previously found violations bearing the hallmarks of genocide. Those findings included attacks on civilians and targeted ethnic communities, with survivors still displaced and accountability absent a year later. The circumstances in El Obeid differ, but investigators warned that emerging patterns of attacks are placing its population at increasing risk.

The Mission said the RSF and SAF bear primary responsibility for Sudan's devastation, with external actors fuelling and benefiting from the war. Its September report, "Fuelling Sudan's Conflict: Weapons, Fighters and External Support Networks," documented support to both parties and transnational networks supplying RSF operations with weapons, drone technology, logistics and foreign personnel. Investigators urged all parties to comply with international humanitarian and human rights law, end arbitrary detention, torture and reprisals, and called on states to prevent transfers of weapons, fighters and other support that could contribute to violations and international crimes.