UN Reports 40 Killed in Funeral Attack as Sudan Conflict Escalates Across New Territories

The war in Sudan has expanded into new territories in recent days. (Representational)

Sudan:

The United Nations reported Wednesday that an attack targeting a funeral in El-Obeid, a significant city in Sudan's central Kordofan region, resulted in 40 fatalities, as paramilitary forces appeared ready to initiate an offensive.

The UN humanitarian office did not provide details regarding when the attack occurred or identify the perpetrators, but indicated that conditions in the Kordofan region were continuing to deteriorate.

The Sudan conflict, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives and displaced millions, has recently spread to additional areas, raising concerns about an even greater humanitarian disaster.

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF), a paramilitary group engaged in conflict with the military since 2023, was preparing to launch an assault in Kordofan following its capture of El-Fasher, the army's final stronghold in the extensive western Darfur region.

"According to local sources, at least 40 civilians lost their lives and dozens sustained injuries yesterday during an attack on a funeral gathering in El Obeid, North Kordofan State's capital," stated the UN's OCHA agency.

"OCHA again urges an immediate cessation of hostilities and calls on all parties to protect civilians and adhere to international humanitarian law."

Individuals forced to evacuate El-Fasher have described terrible abuses, including rape, committed by RSF members.

"The rapes were gang rapes. Mass rape occurred publicly, in front of everyone, and no one could intervene," recounted Amira, a mother of four, from a temporary shelter in Tawila, approximately 70 kilometres (43 miles) west of El-Fasher.

Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reported that over 300 survivors of sexual violence had sought assistance from their teams in Tawila following a previous RSF assault on the nearby Zamzam camp, which displaced more than 380,000 people last spring.

"You would be sleeping and they would come and rape you," said Amira, using a pseudonym while speaking during a webinar organized by campaign group Avaaz.

"I personally witnessed fighters taking daughters from families unable to pay. They would say, 'Since you cannot pay, we will take the girls.' If you had young daughters, they would take them immediately."

Both warring parties have been accused of perpetrating atrocities.

The capture of El-Fasher granted paramilitaries control over all five state capitals in Darfur, generating fears that Sudan would effectively be divided along an east-west axis.

The RSF now controls Darfur and portions of the south, while the army maintains hold of the north, east and central regions along the Nile and Red Sea.

The UN has accused the UAE of providing weapons to the RSF—allegations the UAE has consistently denied.

Meanwhile, according to observers, the Sudanese army has received support from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Iran.

Sudan's army-backed defense minister announced Tuesday that the military would continue its fight against the RSF after the security and defense council convened to discuss a US ceasefire proposal.

"We appreciate the Trump administration's efforts and proposals to achieve peace," Hassan Kabroun stated in a speech broadcast on state television, while adding that "preparations for the Sudanese people's battle are ongoing".

"Our preparations for war are a legitimate national right," he declared.

No specifics of the US truce proposal have been publicly disclosed.

White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters on Tuesday that Washington wanted "to see this conflict come to a peaceful end, just as we have with so many others, but the reality is it's a very complicated situation on the ground right now".

She stated the United States was "actively engaged" in pursuing a peace agreement alongside Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

The army-aligned authorities had previously rejected an earlier truce proposal from these four countries—referred to as the Quad—which stipulated that both the army and the RSF would be excluded from a transitional political process.

On Monday, the International Criminal Court expressed "profound alarm and deepest concern" regarding the reports from El-Fasher, adding that such acts "may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity".

Speaking at a forum in Qatar on Tuesday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the warring parties to "come to the negotiating table, bring an end to this nightmare of violence—now."