The UN Human Rights Council on Monday approved a resolution condemning the rising violence by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces in Sudan's al-Obeid region and launching an immediate probe into reported violations there.

Britain, which introduced the resolution with 14 other nations, had earlier cautioned about the danger of mass atrocities as RSF troops encircled one of Sudan's largest cities in a blockade that echoes the seizure of al-Fashir in North Darfur last year.

"These horrors must not be repeated," Britain’s Human Rights Ambassador Eleanor Sanders told the body.

Others, including South Africa's ambassador Zaheer Laher, supported the action and described the situation as a "red alert as the Rapid Support Forces are drawing from the very same genocidal playbook they used in al-Fashir."

The UN human rights chief cautioned on Friday that a "catastrophe" was developing around al-Obeid and that his office had recorded patterns of summary executions, abductions, torture and sexual violence across the surrounding area.

In the past, the RSF has rejected such claims throughout more than three years of civil war, asserting that the reports were fabricated by adversaries and leveling counter-claims against them.

The resolution passed by consensus, though China distanced itself from the outcome and stated it opposed probes aimed at specific countries without their consent.

Others noted that the measure should have gone further by identifying parties they accuse of prolonging the conflict through arms supplies, including drones, rather than only referencing "external support."

UN council 'failed to seize moment,' African rights group says

"The council failed to fully seize the moment," said African rights group DefendDefenders, pointing to what it described as sustained UAE support to the RSF.

Sudan's army-aligned government has likewise accused the UAE of arming the group amid its fight against the Sudanese army in the civil war.

The UAE has consistently rejected these claims, although UN experts and US lawmakers have identified credible evidence of UAE military assistance.