LONDON, June 23 -- The government of the United Kingdom issued the following news:

* UK and allies call on all parties toimmediatelyhaltattack andprotect civiliansto avoid further bloodshed * Foreign Secretary warnsEl Obeid on"precipice ofatrocity" amid escalatingviolence * UN Security Council saysthere will be no impunity for those committing war crimes

UKand alliesare deeply concernedover continued Rapid Support Forces (RSF) drone attacks targeting civilian infrastructure in El Obeid, Sudan.The UK, alongsideFrance, Germany, Netherlands, Ireland,Italy and Norway have released a joint statement callingfor an immediate halt to escalating violence in El Obeid, Sudan.

In the past 24 hours,drone strikes and attacks on critical civilian infrastructure have continued to escalate. Key supply routes across North Kordofan and White Nile states have been hit,alongside fuel stations and electricity lines,cutting off access tobasic servicesforover 500,000 people-including 200,000 internally displaced people already forced to flee elsewhere in Sudan.

The fighting has already caused huge numbers of civilian casualtiesand israising urgent fears of a major escalation and a heightened risk of atrocities.

Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said:

Lastyear, the world watchedin horror as the Rapid Support Forces raped, pillaged, and murdered their way through El Fasher - leavingnothing butdevastation and death in their wake. This cannot be repeated.

El Obeid is on the precipice of an atrocity that will deepenthe wounds already inflicted on Sudan in El Fasher.

I'vemet survivors of El Fasher,haunted by the trauma they went through. We cannot let this happen again.

The UK and allies have warned that as rainy season approaches, continued attacks on fuel infrastructure risk worsening food shortages and plunging the region into darkness due to limited electricity supplies. The Foreign Secretary has also made clear that any human rights violations in El Obeid will weaken the pathway to a credible political process and lastingpeace.

Today's joint statement follows on-going support from the UK, working closely with several other countries, toestablisha path out of the conflict.

The UK hasalsogalvanised support for Sudan at the United NationsSecurity Councilto mobiliseinternational efforts to bring the war to an end.On 20 June, the UK worked closely with partners on the UN Security Councilto raisethe alarm over the fraught situation at El Obeid, pressing for the warring parties to end the fighting, to protect civilians, andforunimpeded humanitarian access.

The UK continues toengage with international partners, urging those with influence to press the RSF to pull back and bring all parties to the negotiating table. The Foreign Secretary has personally raised this with counterparts in Egypt during her recent visit to Cairo, as well as with partners in the UAE and the United States.

In April, during the International Sudan Conference in Berlin, the UK announced £146 million in humanitarian support for Sudan, increased funding for local aid groupsto £15 million, and doubled funding to groups who document and investigate human rights violations.

View the joint statement: Situation in El Obeid, Sudan: UK and allies joint statement, 23 June 2026.

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