Relentless attacks throughout June on Al-Ubayyid, North Kordofan, killed nearly fifty civilians and injured more than forty.

Field teams documented these violations, and United Nations reports subsequently confirmed them. The attacks mark a grave escalation in the deliberate targeting of civilians and vital infrastructure. Without urgent international intervention, the humanitarian catastrophe of El-Fasher will be repeated on an even larger scale.

According to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, at least fifteen drone strikes hit Al-Ubayyid and its surroundings between 6 and 28 June 2026, killing at least 45 civilians and injuring 41 others. The actual toll is likely far higher. The strikes repeatedly targeted markets, schools, fuel stations, water facilities, the main power plant, and civilian transport, depriving hundreds of thousands of residents of clean water, electricity, healthcare, and food. Conditions worsened in a city already under siege for more than eighteen months.

The UN has documented patterns of summary executions, abductions, torture, ill-treatment, sexual violence, looting, and arbitrary detention along displacement routes in Kordofan. Hate speech directed against those fleeing conflict zones is rising. These violations constitute serious breaches of international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.

The Rapid Support Forces and their backers bear primary responsibility for the siege of Al-Ubayyid and the deliberate targeting of civilians and civilian objects. The use of starvation, siege, and attacks on essential facilities as methods of warfare flagrantly violates the Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol II.

Figures released by the International Organization for Migration show the scale of the crisis. Displacement in Kordofan alone has risen by 65% since October 2025 — from over 132,000 to more than 219,000 by the end of June 2026 — with over 100 displacement incidents recorded in less than nine months. Thousands remain trapped in Al-Ubayyid due to the siege and the deliberate targeting of escape routes.

Institutional Position

The ongoing siege and systematic attacks on Al‑Ubayyid are severe violations of international humanitarian and human rights law. For over eighteen months, civilians have been subjected to starvation as a method of warfare, alongside deliberate targeting of critical infrastructure, summary executions, and rampant sexual violence. The continued flow of weapons to the warring parties only fuels these atrocities. These violations impose clear, binding obligations on all parties and on the international community.

Demands Aligned with International Human Rights Principles

Released by:

Women Journalists Without Chains

Geneva, Switzerland —July 5, 2026