More than 11,000 people, including over 5,500 children, have fled escalating fighting around Sudan’s strategic city of el-Obeid over the past two weeks, according to Save the Children, as the United Nations warns that up to 500,000 civilians could be at risk if the violence intensifies. The city has become the latest focal point in a war that has already triggered the world’s largest displacement crisis.
For much of Sudan’s three-year civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), international attention has centred on Khartoum and the Darfur region. In recent weeks, however, attention has increasingly shifted to el-Obeid as fighting has intensified across Kordofan, prompting warnings from UN officials and humanitarian organisations that another acute humanitarian emergency could be unfolding.
Francesco Lanino, deputy country director for Save the Children in Sudan, said the consequences of displacement extend far beyond the loss of housing.
“For children, displacement is far more than the loss of a home,” he said. “It often means losing access to school, healthcare, clean water and the support networks that help them feel safe and protected. Many have already been displaced multiple times, and without urgent action to protect civilians, ensure humanitarian assistance can reach those in need and prevent further violence, thousands of children could be forced to flee while facing increasing risks to their safety, health and wellbeing.”
Why is el-Obeid so important?
El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state, lies about 360km (224 miles) southwest of Khartoum at the intersection of roads linking central Sudan with Darfur and the country’s southern states.
That location has made it one of Sudan’s most important commercial centres and a key logistical hub for both military operations and humanitarian aid.
The city has remained under the control of the SAF, making it one of the army’s most important positions in western Sudan. Military analysts say control of el-Obeid helps shape movement along key supply routes connecting central Sudan with Kordofan and Darfur, helping explain why both the SAF and the RSF consider it strategically important.
Why has the fighting intensified now?
The battle for el-Obeid reflects a broader shift in Sudan’s war.
After the SAF regained territory in and around Khartoum earlier this year, fighting increasingly concentrated in western Sudan, particularly across the Kordofan and Darfur regions.
The RSF has expanded military pressure around el-Obeid while the army has reinforced its positions inside the city. UN officials have warned that the growing military build-up raises the risk of a wider assault, although neither side has announced plans for a full-scale offensive.
The conflict has also evolved. Drone warfare has become an increasingly prominent feature of the conflict, targeting military positions as well as infrastructure civilians rely on, including fuel depots, electricity networks and water facilities.
What are civilians experiencing?
Civilians in el-Obeid are facing mounting hardship as the fighting intensifies and essential services come under increasing strain.
Aid agencies and the United Nations say repeated attacks have disrupted electricity and water supplies, contributed to fuel shortages and driven up the prices of food and other essential goods. Damage to water infrastructure, combined with restricted humanitarian access, has also heightened concerns about waterborne diseases, including cholera.
Many of those now fleeing el-Obeid had already been displaced by fighting elsewhere in Sudan, meaning they are being uprooted for a second or even third time. Save the Children says more than half of the people displaced in the latest wave are children, underscoring the disproportionate impact the conflict is having on young people and their families.
Why are the UN and aid agencies so concerned?
The immediate concern extends beyond the fighting itself to the possibility that el-Obeid could become the next city to experience prolonged urban warfare, with civilians trapped between rival forces.
According to the United Nations, up to 500,000 civilians in and around el-Obeid could be at risk if violence escalates. The figure includes longtime residents as well as people who had already sought refuge in the city after fleeing fighting elsewhere in Sudan.
People are transported in the back of a truck, some 30km east of the city of el-Obeid, in Sudan’s North Kordofan region [ASHRAF SHAZLY / AFP]
Humanitarian organisations warn that continued hostilities could further restrict the delivery of humanitarian assistance into North Kordofan at a time when many communities already face shortages of food, medicine, fuel and clean water.
The UN has also raised alarm over the growing use of drone strikes, warning that repeated attacks on civilian infrastructure are deepening the humanitarian crisis and making it harder for people to access essential services.
Why are officials comparing el-Obeid and el-Fasher?
Officials increasingly fear el-Obeid could follow the trajectory of el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, where months of fighting left civilians trapped, humanitarian access severely restricted and basic services devastated.
The comparison does not mean el-Obeid has reached the same stage. Rather, UN officials say it highlights the risk that the city could follow a similar trajectory if fighting intensifies and civilians cannot safely leave or receive humanitarian assistance.
El-Fasher has become one of the starkest examples of the human cost of Sudan’s war. Since fighting escalated there in 2024, repeated clashes, shelling and attacks on displacement camps have forced hundreds of thousands of people to flee, while hospitals, markets and other civilian infrastructure have been damaged or destroyed. Aid agencies have repeatedly warned that restrictions on humanitarian access have deepened hunger and disease, leaving many residents with little access to food, clean water or healthcare.
UN officials fear a similar pattern could unfold in el-Obeid if military pressure continues to build. The city has become a refuge for people displaced from other parts of Sudan, meaning a major offensive could trap large numbers of civilians while further disrupting aid operations across Kordofan. Preventing another prolonged urban battle, they say, is critical to avoiding an even wider humanitarian crisis.
What could happen next?
The next phase of the conflict will depend on whether the current military pressure around el-Obeid develops into a sustained ground offensive or whether diplomatic efforts succeed in reducing hostilities and improving humanitarian access.
For the Sudanese Armed Forces, holding el-Obeid is important to maintaining its position in North Kordofan and preserving access to western Sudan. For the Rapid Support Forces, increasing pressure on the city could strengthen its military position in the region, although the outcome of any future offensive remains uncertain.
If fighting escalates, aid organisations warn that more families are likely to flee while shortages of food, clean water, fuel and medical supplies deepen. A wider battle could also further disrupt humanitarian operations across Kordofan, a region that serves as an important corridor for assistance to communities affected by the war.
More broadly, the battle for el-Obeid reflects the changing geography of Sudan’s war. As front lines shift away from Khartoum, Kordofan is emerging as one of the conflict’s most consequential theatres, carrying profound implications not only for the military balance but also for hundreds of thousands of civilians caught in the fighting.
As the latest wave of displacement illustrates, the humanitarian consequences are already unfolding. Whether el-Obeid becomes another prolonged urban battleground, or whether sustained international efforts help avert a wider assault, may determine not only the next phase of Sudan’s war but also the fate of hundreds of thousands of civilians caught in its path.
“The signs from el-Obeid are clear and unmistakable: another human rights catastrophe is unfolding in Sudan,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk warned late last week. “This is not a drill. It is a red alert that needs to land on the desks of heads of state and government around the world.”
Protesters hold a rally in Seoul, South Korea, 06 June 2026, denouncing ballot paper shortages at some polling stations during the 03 June local elections and demanding a revote. Photo by YONHAP / EPA
June 8 (Asia Today) — A protest blockade outside a vote-counting site in Seoul’s Jamsil area entered its fourth day Monday, as demonstrators demanding a revote over a ballot shortage during the June 3 local elections increasingly raised claims of election fraud.
Until the weekend, protesters had mostly focused on voting rights and calls for a revote. By Monday, however, the atmosphere outside the Olympic Park Handball Gymnasium in Songpa District had shifted, with chants of “election fraud” mixed with demands for a new election.
At about 9 a.m., protesters could be heard chanting “fraudulent election, revote.” South Korean flags were visible throughout the crowd, along with many U.S. flags. Some protesters carried signs reading “Stop the Steal,” a slogan associated with challenges to the 2020 U.S. presidential election results.
One participant who said he had been at the site for four days said the mood began changing Sunday night as the size of the crowd grew and different groups joined the protest.
Police informally estimated that about 1,600 people were gathered near the gymnasium at 11 a.m., down sharply from about 8,000 around midnight. The age makeup also appeared to change. People in their 20s accounted for about 30% of the weekend crowd, while those in their 60s or older made up the largest share Monday morning, at 26.2%.
Tensions also rose among protesters. Some who insisted the crowd should only demand a revote were accused by others of being infiltrators from the Korean University Progressive Union, a left-leaning student group.
A brief scuffle broke out around 10:20 a.m. after six members of South Korea’s under-20 women’s national handball team entered the gymnasium to retrieve equipment stored inside before the World Championship in Shanxi, China, on June 24.
Police asked protesters to allow the athletes to enter. The athletes came out about four minutes later with their equipment, but some protesters tried to inspect the bags, saying ballot papers might be hidden inside. One person even demanded that the athletes remove their socks for inspection.
When another protester tried to stop the inspection, others accused him of being linked to the student group and a brief physical confrontation followed.
Revote seen as unlikely
Legal experts say a revote remains unlikely. Under the Public Official Election Act, a revote would require confirmation of a serious legal violation that could have affected the election result and a court ruling invalidating the election.
Legal observers widely say the ballot shortage may be considered a serious failure in election management, but it would be difficult to treat it immediately as grounds to invalidate the entire election.
The government is also focusing more on determining the facts and punishing those responsible than on discussing a revote.
President Lee Jae Myung expressed regret Sunday over the ballot shortage, saying the people’s right to vote is a constitutional right that must not be restricted or violated for any reason. He ordered a thorough investigation and punishment of those responsible and asked the National Assembly to pursue a parliamentary investigation. He did not comment separately on whether a revote should be held.
A joint investigation team involving prosecutors and police was formed Sunday. The investigation is expected to focus on whether election officials neglected their duties and who should be held responsible for the management failure.
The Seoul Metropolitan Police Agency’s serious crimes unit said Monday it had secured a group chat room used by election workers and was checking the facts with officials and citizens who were unable to vote because of the ballot shortage.
Political discussions on institutional reform are also continuing. Rep. Han Dong-hoon, an independent lawmaker, said Monday he plans to propose revisions to strengthen outside oversight of the National Election Commission and improve management of election commission employees.
Some lawmakers from both ruling and opposition parties have also raised the need for a parliamentary investigation and possible independent counsel probe.
The People Power Party said Monday it will file an election petition, a preliminary step before a lawsuit seeking to invalidate the Seoul mayoral election. The party plans to recruit 63 Seoul residents as joint petitioners by Wednesday and file the petition Thursday.
WASHINGTON — Mired in a persistent cost of living crisis and an unpopular war with Iran, President Trump reached a perilous milestone last week, registering an approval rating of 34% in a top-tier poll — a record low less than halfway through his second term.
The results mark one of the sharpest polling collapses of any modern president. The data, from the Economist and YouGov, brings Trump back down to his political nadir, matching a number he hasn’t seen since the immediate aftermath of the Jan. 6 attack five years ago.
It follows on several other surveys published in recent days showing the president entering precarious political territory roughly six months ahead of the midterm elections, raising alarm bells in Republican campaign offices across the country over the party’s prospects in the fall.
It has also led pollsters to question long-standing assumptions about the president’s floor of support, wondering whether it is at risk of giving way.
“It’s harder to get lower, but it’s possible depending on what he does,” said Christopher Wlezien, a political scientist at the University of Texas at Austin. “To get that number down, you are going to have to eat into his core.”
Trump’s base of support remains strong, reinforcing a long-standing theory among pollsters that partisanship now serves as a direct proxy for presidential approval. But softening Republican support on specific policy matters — including top voter priorities, such as the economy — have begun raising questions among experts whether further erosion is possible.
A New York Times poll found his approval at 38%, and a Politico poll recorded a similar erosion, driven by a majority of Americans — including 18% of Trump supporters — stating they are financially worse off than they were before he resumed office.
Roughly 2 out of 3 Americans oppose the war Trump started with Iran. And the coalition that swept him back into office — including a surge in support from Latino, independent and young voters — has effectively disappeared.
While the downward trend looks like a story of a presidency in perpetual trouble, political scientists see a more complicated picture.
“Polarization has raised the floor and lowered the ceiling for approval ratings,” said Brandon Rottinghaus, a professor of political science at the University of Houston. “Dramatic swings are less common because approval ratings are now fixed to partisanship.”
The comparison to George W. Bush, whose numbers famously soared after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and cratered into the mid-20s after Hurricane Katrina and the Iraq war, is instructive of how polarization has changed in the Trump era.
Bush governed in a country capable of moving together, in favor or against a president, in response to major events. Americans are no longer swayed in that way when it comes to their views of the president, Rottinghaus argues.
“Approval ratings today are increasingly a measure of who the president is rather than what the president does,” he said.
Trump, in his own way, has seemed to nod at this dynamic. When challenged on his standing with the public, or when a Republican lawmaker breaks with him over a policy issue, he has made the argument that he and the MAGA movement are inseparable. In other words, that opposition to any decision he makes is opposition to the movement itself.
“MAGA is me. MAGA loves everything I do, and I love everything I do,” Trump said in a January interview with NBC News when asked if his base supports long-term military interventions abroad.
Rottinghaus compared the questions about presidential approval as the “same as asking whether you’re Republican or not.”
“So why ask it,” he said.
Gallup, the organization that had tracked presidential approval for eight decades, announced earlier this year that it would stop publishing approval ratings of individual political figures, a shift that underscores how the traditional measure of a politician’s popularity has evolved.
When asked about the change, a Gallup spokesperson told the Washington Post at the time that “the context around these measures has changed.”
“They are now widely produced, aggregated and interpreted, and no longer represent an area where Gallup can make its most distinctive contribution,” the spokesperson added.
Emmerdale fans have been left even more worried about Jacob Sugden after his latest run-in with Doctor Todd on the ITV soap as his former boss issued another threat
Emmerdale fans have been left even more worried about Jacob Sugden after his latest run-in with Doctor Todd on the ITV soap
Emmerdale fans have been left even more worried about Jacob Sugden after his latest run-in with Doctor Todd on the ITV soap. The medical student, played by Joe-Warren Plant, has been terrorised by his superior at Hotten General for months now, originally masking her bullying as tough love as he began his journey in the profession.
On Monday’s edition of the Yorkshire-based soap, Jacob called round to see Doctor Todd, also known as Cailtin, on the day of her father’s funeral. He took with him some flowers as a gesture of condolence and explained that he hoped to put the past behind them, especially now that she has decided to retire.
Caitlin (Caroline Harker) thanked him for the flowers and seemingly agreed they could draw a line on it, but as soon as Jacob was out the door, she dismissed his gesture by tossing the flowers onto the sofa.
Later on, Caitlin bumped into Vanessa Woodfield (Michelle Hardwick) in the shop, where Jacob was working on the till amid his paternity leave, and arranged to go on a date with her. Vanessa then got a phone call and had to leave immediately to deal with a family emergency, with Caitlin swooping in to offer to pay for her shopping so she could leave quickly.
She took the basket to the till and instantly used this as an opportunity to lay out her plans for Jacob. She said: “Thanks again for the flowers. I was a bit blindsided by you showing up, to be honest.
“But you said something about us going our separate ways and moving on. That’s gonna be a bit difficult, that first bit, isn’t it? Because we both live here.
“But I’m gonna have a lot more time on my hands, as you know, what with no job, and no dad to worry about. I wonder what I’m gonna do with it. Hopefully, it won’t involve finding new ways to make your life as hellish as when you worked with me…especially with what I know. Cheery-bye!”
Jacob was left looking confused to say the least as Caitlin walked out of the shop, but the knowledge that she has is that baby Leyla isn’t actually his daughter, nor is she his wife Sarah’s.
The retired doctor has worked out that Charity Dingle (Emma Atkins), who is Sarah’s grandmother and had claimed to be acting as surrogate, is the child’s biological mother, having conceived the baby during a one-night stand with Ross Barton.
Reacting to the shock threat, one fan wrote on Reddit: “Todd is seriously scary now she’s in full psycho mode.” Another said: “Is Todd that sad that she’s retiring to make his life a misery?”
A third wrote: “Jacob – ‘this woman is bullying me and making my life hell every time I see her, so I know what I’ll do, I’ll go round to her house’”
Emmerdale airs weeknights at 8pm on ITV1 and ITVX.
Good Morning Britain star Richard Madeley is to head inside one of the world’s most controversial prison’s for an eye-opening Channel 5 documentary
08:08, 07 May 2026Updated 08:08, 07 May 2026
Richard Madeley will present a new documentary(Image: Channel 5)
Richard Madeley is switching the comfort of the Good Morning Britain sofa for the grey walls of prison for a new documentary. The presenter will also head over to Channel 5 for the documentary as he takes on a huge new project.
The feature-length documentary titled Richard Madeley On Murder Row has been commissioned and is set to air later this year. The programme will offer up a rare peek inside one of the world’s most controversial prisons.
The 69-year-old star will head to Centro de Confinamiento del Terrorismo (CECOT). The vast maximum security prison has become the cornerstone of El Salvador President Nayib Bukele’s war on gangs.
Richard will be given access to the full site. It’s said the rare offer “took months to negotiate”, with the presenter also taking in how life really is inside the detention centre.
The GMB presenter will speak to inmates at the facility as they live under the strict regime. And he will also chat with guards who set the harsh rules to try to keep the felons under control.
Away from the institute, Richard will visit the tough urban areas that surround it and are home o a number of violent gangs. He will find out exactly what the effects of the CECOT being on their doorstep has had.
Speaking of the opportunity, Richard said: “‘I was genuinely thrilled to be asked to front this film for 5. It’s not every day you’re given the chance to step inside a place as extraordinary and talked about as CECOT.”
He went on: “What struck me straight away was the sheer scale of it, and the stories behind it. In meeting the people who run the prison and those living inside it, what unfolds is a fascinating and often surprising look at justice, security, and the human realities behind the headlines. It’s been a remarkable experience.”
Guy Davies, Consultant Editor for Commissioning 5, said: “This access to CECOT was a tantalising prospect. Richard is, at heart, a first-class popular journalist and we were thrilled to get the chance for him to serve some time there. I think viewers will be very surprised by the results.”
And Andy Dunn, Senior Executive Producer, ITN Productions, added: “Gaining access to CECOT, the most secretive and notorious prison in the world, took months of negotiation. It was really important for Richard to experience the extreme conditions there first hand, and he takes us on a compelling and unique journey as he considers the effectiveness and ethics of such a harsh regime.”
Tens of thousands of prisoners have been locked up on bare metal bunks in the prison. They often don’t have a mattress and conditions have been described as inhumane. Cells have two toilets and a basin which are open with no privacy while there are no windows and they are watched by guards from holes in the mesh ceiling.
The conditions are unlike anything seen in the UK system as the inmates take their cramped space on the metal bunks.
![People are transported in the back of a truck, some 30km east of the city of El-Obeid, in Sudan's North Kordofan region, on January 9, 2023. -[ASHRAF SHAZLY / AFP]](https://i0.wp.com/www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/AFP__20230119__336T3JG__v3__HighRes__SudanAnimalCamel-1780778998.jpg?w=640&ssl=1)
