Seven European countries have called on Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to immediately stop their assault on El-Obeid, a city in Sudan's North Kordofan state, warning of credible signs that a major offensive could be imminent as civilians face worsening shortages of food, water and fuel.
Britain, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands and Norway issued a joint statement on Tuesday saying the situation had reached a critical moment in the city, which remains under Sudanese army control.
"We call on the RSF to halt its attack immediately," the statement said.
The appeal came a day after the United States, the European Union, the African Union and the United Nations expressed concern over escalating violence around El-Obeid.
Daily attacks
RSF forces have been massing around El-Obeid for 12 days while the city comes under daily and intensive attacks.
International organisations have warned of an imminent risk of atrocities and raised fears of a repeat of the El-Fasher scenario, after the Darfur city fell to the RSF following a lengthy siege.
"There are now credible signs of an imminent offensive. This is a critical moment, and the international community must act," the seven countries said in their statement.
Repeated drone strikes in recent weeks have "killed civilians and driven acute shortages of fuel, food and water", it added.
"Civilians must be able to leave safely, and all parties must ensure rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access."
Life under siege
Several medical centres in El-Obeid have been hit by RSF drones. The city's main power station and water facilities have also been targeted. Water and electricity supplies have been cut, while residential neighbourhoods have come under drone attacks.
A refugee camp was struck on Monday, killing two people and injuring around 10 others, including several children, the Sudan Doctors Network said.
Aid agencies have warned that conditions inside the city are rapidly worsening.
"If the siege is not lifted and if unconditional access for humanitarian aid is not allowed, within weeks, or at most one or two months, we will reach the same tragic levels we saw in El-Fasher," Mohamed Refaat, Sudan chief of mission for the International Organisation for Migration, told the French news agency AFP.
European warning
Aid agencies, including the IOM, had intermittent access to El-Obeid in recent months but have now suspended missions as insecurity worsens on key routes, Refaat said.
"Last year, the world watched in horror as the Rapid Support Forces raped, pillaged, and murdered their way through El-Fasher – leaving nothing but devastation and death in their wake. This cannot be repeated," British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said in a statement.
"El-Obeid is on the precipice of an atrocity that will deepen the wounds already inflicted on Sudan in El Fasher."
(with newswires)
