Sudan, Lebanon, Ebola & other topics - Daily Press Briefing (18 June 2026) | United Nations

Noon briefing by Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General.

Highlights:
- Sudan
- Lebanon
- Occupied Palestinian Territory
- Ebola
- Deputy Secretary-General/Travel
- Libya
- Kosovo UN Youth Assembly
- Climate/Africa
- Joint FAO-WFP Anticipatory Action Appeal
- UN Open Source Week 2026
- International Day for Countering Hate Speech
- Sustainable Gastronomy Day

SUDAN

The Secretary-General is deeply concerned by the escalation of fighting in and around El Obeid, North Kordofan state, including drone attacks impacting civilians and civilian infrastructure.

The Secretary-General is particularly alarmed by reports of the deployment, by the Rapid Support Forces, of substantial military reinforcements around El Obeid which may indicate an imminent ground offensive into the city. Such an offensive would potentially be placing yet another major population centre in Sudan at grave risk of large-scale violence.

The Secretary-General calls for restraint from all parties and urges them to take all necessary measures to respect and protect civilians.  

Far too many times in this conflict, clear warnings have failed to trigger concerted action by the international community. The Secretary-General urges all those with influence over the parties to exert it to prevent further bloodshed. We must not allow the horrors of El Fasher to be repeated in El Obeid.

The Secretary-General reiterates his call for an immediate cessation of hostilities. He urges the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces to engage with international efforts, including those of his Personal Envoy for Sudan, Pekka Haavisto, to facilitate de-escalation and to reach a negotiated settlement to end this devastating conflict.

Humanitarian organizations continue to provide assistance in El Obeid and across the Kordofan region, despite the deteriorating security situation. A humanitarian worker was among the civilians killed by drone strikes in residential neighbourhoods in El Obeid in the last week.

The Secretary-General stresses that humanitarian workers and supplies must be able to move safely wherever they need to go. Humanitarian operations must be protected and they must be facilitated. El Obeid is a crucial hub for humanitarian response efforts across the broader Kordofan state.

Civilians who wish to leave must be allowed to leave safely. Those choosing to remain must be respected, they must be protected and they must have access to the humanitarian relief that they need.

The Secretary-General reminds all parties of their clear obligations under international humanitarian law and international human rights law, including the respect and protection of civilians and civilian infrastructure, and to facilitate rapid, safe, unhindered and sustained humanitarian access.

As I mentioned, despite the volatile situation, our humanitarian partners, including NGOs and local responders, remain on the ground to provide rapid, essential assistance.

And also, we have a statement on the worrying situation in and around El Obeid from the High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, and that is being shared with you.

Full Highlights: https://www.un.org/sg/en/content/noon-briefing-highlight?date=2026-06-18