CAIRO (AP) — Paramilitary attacks on a strategic city of a half-million people in central Sudan have raised international alarm that another round of mass violence against civilians is being planned as the country's war surges into its fourth year.
“We must not allow the horrors of El Fasher to be repeated in El Obeid,” a spokesman for U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres said in a statement.
More than 6,000 people were killed in three days last year when the Rapid Support Forces seized el-Fasher in an attack that U.N. experts said bore the “hallmarks of genocide.”
The U.N. Security Council has said it is alarmed by reports of “substantial” reinforcements by the RSF around el-Obeid in North Kordofan. The United States, Britain and some other European countries have warned of “escalating atrocity risks.”
RSF deployments around el-Obeid suggest preparations for an offensive to retake it and whether the city ultimately falls depends on several factors, experts told The Associated Press.
The RSF didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.
The city on Sudan's main east-west road leading to the Nile Valley and the capital, Khartoum, is strategic for Sudan's army as it battles the RSF. The military broke more than yearlong siege on the city early last year.
The city has a sprawling air base and is home to an infantry division.
″El Obeid is important beyond even the strategic implications because it shows what happens when you have two forces that are highly depleted attempting to gain advantage on the other in high proximity,” said Nathaniel Raymond, executive director of the Humanitarian Research Lab at the Yale School of Public Health.
The RSF wants to control the road to Khartoum, which Sudan’s military retook last year, and its sister city, Omdurman, placing them again under threat, creating “havoc for civilians” and making it hard for humanitarian agencies returning to the capital area, Raymond said.
Experts said an attack on el-Obeid would be different from the one on el-Fasher, which followed an 18-month siege and where many killings were ethnically motivated.
″This is not a genocidal move, it’s a tactical one,” Raymond said, warning of possible reprisal killings for those who are seen as allied with the military if the RSF retakes el-Obeid.
The RSF can isolate el-Obeid from multiple directions, but sustaining a siege would cost the paramilitary significant manpower, vehicles and military equipment, said Ali Mahmoud Ali, Sudan researcher with the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data project, or ACLED.
If the paramilitary manages to take and hold the city, the situation there “could deteriorate rapidly,” he said.
Over recent months, el-Obeid has been subjected to brutal drone strikes by the RSF that have destroyed civilian infrastructure including power facilities and neighborhoods. Drone attacks halso have targeted bridges and key supply routes into the city, according to the U.N.
Taghreed al-Rashid, a 35-year-old resident reached by phone, said she feels reassured by the presence of army forces but is increasingly fearful of drone attacks targeting residential neighborhoods and markets. She said a recent strike on a power facility sparked a water crisis which has led her to pay $5 per barrel of water.
“We’re committed to staying in the city despite our ongoing hardships because forced displacement is a bigger struggle,” al-Rashid said.
The ongoing drone attacks have increased the civilian death toll in the Kordofan region. At least 2,670 people including combatants and civilians were killed in 2025, marking a 600% increase in drone-related deaths and an 81% increase in drone attacks compared to the previous year, ACLED found.
Another el-Obeid resident, Magdy Abdou, said he is able to go to mosques and markets without difficulty but worries about further drone strikes on infrastructure.
Seizing the city would provide the RSF with a base to launch drones at far closer range.
The recent attacks on infrastructure have left civilians with scarce food, fuel, water, health services and transportation, said Ravina Shamdasani, a spokesperson for the U.N. human rights office.
“Many civilians are trapped. Those who are able to flee are doing so. The imminent offensive must be halted, and civilians enabled to safely leave the city,” she said.
The RSF's “force strength is significantly reduced due to defenses and intertribal fighting” and it lacks the personnel to face the army's expected counterattack, Raymond said.
Still, the RSF has deployed air defense systems in Abu Zabad, West Kordofan, which might serve as a logistical hub for operations targeting el-Obeid and another nearby city, Dilling, and intensify clashes, Ali said.
Since the army broke the siege on el-Obeid last year, the RSF has launched multiple offensives in attempts to reestablish the siege from several directions.
Sudan's army also is equipped with drones. An army official said recent drone strikes destroyed an RSF battalion and more than 50 armored vehicles in West Kordofan, preventing advances toward North Kordofan and el-Obeid.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media, said the army has a plan to protect the city’s airspace from RSF drones. Another army official didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.
The army has prioritized defending el-Obeid and the east-west corridor to the Nile Valley since last year, reflecting a focus on key routes, according to Federico Donelli, associate professor of international relations at the University of Trieste.
″Overall, the SAF appears capable of mounting an organized initial defense, but the key open question is whether it can sustain it against a faster, better-equipped RSF push,” Donelli added.
Associated Press writer Yassir Abdallah in Shendi, Sudan, contributed to this report.
FILE - Sudanese soldiers from the Rapid Support Forces unit patrol during a rally for Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, in Garawee town, north of Sudan, on June 15, 2019. (AP Photo, File)
SALT LAKE CITY (AP) — Ben McAdams, a former Utah congressman who has sought to shed his reputation as a moderate, won the Democratic primary Tuesday in a redrawn U.S. House district that Democrats are strongly favored to win this fall.
His victory over three progressive candidates disappointed voters who wanted to push the Democratic Party further to the left in a race that illustrated the ideological clash playing out in Democratic primaries across the country this year. His opponents included a state senator and a former employee of TikTok and Meta who had insisted McAdams is too conservative to represent a left-leaning district. Some had urged other candidates to drop out of the primary to give a progressive a greater chance of winning.
The Salt Lake City area's 1st Congressional District is among the few anticipated Democratic pickups following a national redistricting fight started by President Donald Trump to try to help Republicans maintain their majority in the U.S. House. Democrats need to gain only a few seats in November to take control of the narrowly divided chamber.
McAdams is strongly favored to defeat Republican Riley Owen, an intelligence officer in the Navy Reserve who was chosen during the state GOP’s spring convention. Nevertheless, he appealed to his primary challengers and their supporters to help maintain the party's momentum.
“The energy and the passion your campaigns brought to this race is exactly what we need headed into November,” McAdams said after his win.
The other three of Utah's four congressional seats are considered safely Republican. That includes the 3rd District, where Trump-endorsed U.S. Rep. Celeste Maloy fended off a challenge from the right.
Candidates in the new district tried to outflank one another on the left, marking a departure from decades of Democrats trying to appeal to Utah's mostly conservative electorate.
During his 2018 campaign, McAdams pitched himself as a moderate when he ousted a GOP incumbent in the midterms of Trump’s first term. He also described himself at the time as having anti-abortion views, but said the decision to terminate a pregnancy should be made by a woman in consultation with her doctors, family and faith counselors. This year, as he campaigned in a much more Democratic district, McAdams pledged his support for abortion rights and insisted that he’s only “moderate in tone.”
State Democrats held an open primary, meaning anyone in the district could vote, regardless of party affiliation.
After his primary win, McAdams outlined his previous work in Congress to expand healthcare, invest in public lands and secure protections for LGBTQ+ communities. But he said his defining vote was to impeach Trump, which was met with loud applause from his supporters.
“I would do it again,” he said. “Character matters, courage matters and right now talk is cheap. Utahans deserve someone who has already shown the courage to stand up and speak with conviction when the pressure is real.”
A supporter, Donna Gunn, said McAdams' victory is an opportunity to send a fierce ally for LGBTQ+ rights back to Washington. While she was dejected after the 2024 presidential race, she said Tuesday's primary outcome restored her hope.
“We are so happy and so lucky to get Ben, who’s going to stand up to that bully in the White House,” she said.
Among McAdams' opponents was state Sen. Nate Blouin, a progressive firebrand in the Republican-controlled Legislature who had hoped to bounce back from a social media controversy. Blouin apologized in April for several posts he made on internet forums between 2009 and 2015 that denigrated women and members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the Utah-based faith known widely as the Mormon church.
Blouin tried to energize an electorate he said has grown accustomed to settling for someone who will “play nice” with Republicans. He racked up endorsements from some of the country’s most prominent progressives, including independent Sen. Bernie Sanders and Democratic Reps. Pramila Jayapal, Greg Casar and Maxwell Frost.
On Tuesday night, he looked ahead and issued a statement saying his campaign, while falling short, marked “the beginning of a new era of organizing” in the state.
“The progressive movement in Utah still has a long way to go, but we’ve helped forge the path forward, and we’ll keep organizing for a better Utah where public lands are protected, ICE is abolished, and reproductive freedom is secure,” he said.
Two other progressive candidates, both political newcomers, Liban Mohamed and Michael Farrell, also vied for the seat.
Mohamed, a former Meta and TikTok employee, was a breakout star at the state’s Democratic convention earlier this year, where he emerged victorious after five rounds of ranked choice voting to earn the party’s backing in the primary over McAdams. He was backed by other prominent progressives, including U.S. Reps. Ilhan Omar and Ayanna Pressley.
While progressive voters had a wealth of candidates from which to choose, some said the field was too big and ended up splitting their support too many ways.
“It definitely was a heartbreaking feeling,” said Alex Minero, a Blouin supporter. “I still think having a Democrat in Congress is a win. It’s still better than nothing, but Nate Blouin would’ve done a much better job than Ben McAdams.”
Utah's new congressional map also left Maloy vulnerable to a primary challenge from a candidate who is further to the right. But she handily defeated former state lawmaker Phil Lyman, who embraced false claims of fraud following the 2020 presidential election.
The district, spanning most of southern and eastern Utah, emerged last fall from a legal battle over the state’s previous congressional map, dramatically altering its makeup.
Maloy was first elected to Congress in a special election in 2023 and was reelected to a full term in 2024. She worked previously as a soil conservationist and an attorney with a focus on public lands and water policy.
After her primary win, she issued a statement saying her campaign was focused on promoting “the conservative results” she had produced for her constituents.
She will face Democratic nominee Kent Udell, an engineer, in the November general election. Maloy is heavily favored to win in the deep red 3rd District.
Associated Press writer Matthew Brown in Denver contributed to this report.
Nate Blouin watches the results roll in with his wife, Jackie Rosen, at his primary election watch party at Kiitos Brewing in Salt Lake City, Utah on Tuesday, June 23, 2026. (Kristin Murphy/The Deseret News via AP)
Democratic congressional candidate Ben McAdams speaks between family members James, Isaac and Julie during a watch party for Utah's primary election on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Alex Goodlett)
Democratic congressional candidate Ben McAdams speaks during a watch party for Utah's primary election on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Alex Goodlett)
Democratic congressional candidate Ben McAdams speaks between family members Isaac, James and Julie during a watch party for Utah's primary election on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Alex Goodlett)
Utah congressional candidate Nate Blouin, left, speaks to Brian King, the chair of the Utah Democratic Party, at an Election Night watch party at Kiitos Brewing in Salt Lake City, Tuesday, June 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum)
Democratic congressional candidate Ben McAdams speaks to a crowd during a watch party for Utah's primary election on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Alex Goodlett)
Vote Here signs are posted outside the Salt Lake County Government Center in Salt Lake City, Utah, Tuesday, June 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum)
A Utah voter places a ballot in a drop box outside the Salt Lake County Government Center in Salt Lake City, Tuesday, June 23, 2026. (AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum)
A sign hangs at a voting center during Utah's primary election on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, in Salt Lake City. (AP Photo/Alex Goodlett)
FILE - Liban Mohamed, the son of Somali immigrants and a former Meta and TikTok employee, speaks on a panel of candidates running to represent Utah's new Democratic-leaning congressional district, March 21, 2026, in Taylorsville, Utah. (AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum, File)
FILE - Utah state Sen. Nate Blouin, left, and tax attorney Michael Farrell speak on a panel of candidates running to represent Utah's new Democratic-leaning congressional district, March 21, 2026, in Taylorsville, Utah. (AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum, File)
FILE - Former U.S. Rep. Ben McAdams speaks at a forum for candidates running to represent Utah's new Democratic-leaning congressional district, March 21, 2026, in Taylorsville, Utah. (AP Photo/Hannah Schoenbaum, File)
