For months, the RSF siege has trapped half a million men, women and children in El-Obeid.

Omissions

• All confirming sources are secondary (news outlets) citing UN estimates (UN Human Rights Office, IOM, UN Security Council discussions); no primary UN/OCHA document was directly retrieved in the searches.
• The figure is an estimate of the population trapped/at risk (some sources say 'about 500,000', others 'more than 500,000 in danger'), not a precisely counted population under siege.
• The siege has been reported for months before the session date; Al Jazeera noted on 2026-07-06 that the RSF had been besieging the city 'for months, placing about 500,000 people ... with nowhere to flee'.
• Some Al Jazeera material confirming the figure (Instagram reel, 2026-07-27 article) is either a social media post or published after the 2026-07-08 session date and was not used as evidence.

Sources

• SecondaryAl JazeeraHalf a million people are trapped in the Sudanese city of el-Obeid ... placing about 500,000 people, including 105,000 displaced people, in the middle with nowhere to flee. UN warns of 'catastrophe' in el-Obeid after RSF atrocities in el-Fasher last year.
• SecondaryAl Jazeera (editorial)As RSF troops encircle the strategic Sudanese city, half a million trapped civilians face mass atrocities ... About 500,000 residents ...
• SecondaryGeneva Solutions (UN rights council)The UN estimates some 500,000 civilians in El Obeid are at risk. The city is a strategic flashpoint in the war.
• SecondaryFrance 24The UN has raised the alarm over a worsening humanitarian crisis in El-Obeid, a city besieged by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan, with civilians trapped under the siege.