Pope urges ceasefire as 200,000 face starvation in el-Obeid

Pope Francis on Sunday urged an end to fighting in Sudan’s besieged city of el-Obeid, where weeks of escalating clashes have trapped civilians and cut off aid.

Speaking in English from a sunlit window at the Vatican, the pontiff said he continued “to follow with concern the tragic situation in Sudan, especially in the city of el-Obeid,” where a months-long siege has intensified in recent weeks. El-Obeid, a major market hub in North Kordofan, lies on key supply routes between the capital Khartoum and Darfur. Heavy fighting since mid-May has pushed the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces into urban neighborhoods, damaging hospitals, bakeries, and water stations. Aid agencies report that food stocks in the city are nearly exhausted and that an estimated 200,000 residents face acute hunger.

The siege began after the RSF captured el-Obeid’s military garrison in April, cutting off the main road to Khartoum and forcing the army to rely on air drops that are irregular and often intercepted. The city has become a microcosm of Sudan’s wider war, which erupted in April 2023 after a power struggle between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. Fighting has since spread across more than half the country, displacing nine million people and leaving large areas inaccessible to relief workers.

The pope did not specify what action he expects, but his appeal adds moral pressure on both sides to observe a Ramadan truce that has already been broken several times. The RSF has accused the army of using the truce to regroup, while the army accuses the RSF of looting aid convoys. A UN Security Council session on Sudan scheduled for Wednesday is expected to consider stronger measures, including sanctions on commanders blocking humanitarian access. Aid workers warn that without an immediate ceasefire and guaranteed corridors, el-Obeid’s population could face famine within weeks, deepening a crisis that has already killed tens of thousands across Sudan.