The RSF, led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, widely known as Hemedti, released a video on the same day, saying it is “amassing a large force, heralding the imminent liberation of el-Obeid”.

The state capital of North Kordofan in central Sudan lies east of Darfur, where the RSF killed and displaced thousands of people over the past week after seizing control of el-Fasher from government forces.

The Sudanese armed forces currently control el-Obeid. However, both sides have been gearing up for a major fight over the city.

In the RSF video, a soldier holding a weapon boasted that “all our forces have converged” on Bara, 50km (30 miles) northeast of el-Obeid.

 

UN teams estimated an additional 8,631 people were displaced from el-Fasher, the state capital of North Darfur, over the weekend. This means that more than 70,000 people have been displaced from the area since the RSF took over the last major city in Darfur on October 26, pushing out the Sudanese armed forces after an 18-month siege.

Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told reporters in New York on Friday that reports of “serious violations” including summary executions of several Red Crescent volunteers have emerged since the RSF’s takeover of Bara last week.

 

 

Tens of thousands of starving and desperate people are still trapped inside el-Fasher while the fate of several thousand who fled but have not arrived in Tawila or other nearby towns remains unknown.

A video circulating online on Monday showed dozens of bodies strewn across roads surrounding el-Fasher.

The UN and international aid agencies have verified numerous accounts by survivors who said RSF fighters have engaged in mass executions, torture, rape and sexual abuse and holding people for ransom.

“We have been hearing horror stories from many people arriving here, and those who were here weeks before the RSF took over el-Fasher. Some of them said they were stopped as they tried to leave the city under siege, and their relatives, especially males, were abducted and imprisoned by the RSF. Many here are mothers and children,” Al Jazeera’s Hiba Morgan said in a report from al-Dabbah city in northern Sudan.

“Others say they have seen their relatives being killed on social media by the RSF. Some saw artillery strikes leaving headless and mutilated bodies.”

Famine confirmed in two regions

The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, or IPC, announced on Monday that famine has been detected in el-Fasher and Kadugli, located in South Kordofan.

The UN-backed global hunger monitor, which in August confirmed famine spreading in Gaza, said 20 other areas in Darfur and Kordofan are also at serious risk of sliding into famine conditions.

It is estimated that 375,000 people were already living in famine conditions across Darfur and Kordofan as of September, while an additional 6.3 million people across the country are considered as suffering from extreme hunger and at risk of sliding into famine.

More Sudanese people will likely die of starvation and malnutrition without a ceasefire and safe humanitarian access, the IPC said.