12,400 Reports Against the RSF and $61 Billion 139 Million in Initial Losses to the Industrial and Cultural Sectors

Port Sudan – Sudanhorizon

The head of the National Committee for Crimes and Violations of International Humanitarian Law by the Rapid Support Forces, the acting Sudanese Attorney General, Yasser Bashir Bukhari, said that the statistics received by the committee from various states in Sudan amounted to more than 12,400 cases against the Rapid Support Forces, with leaders and individuals from those forces accused of committing those violations, surprising the initial estimates of the losses of the industrial and cultural sectors at $61 billion 139 million.

This came during a press conference held by the head of the committee today, on Sunday, at the headquarters of the Ministry of Information in Port Sudan.

The head of the committee added that the accusations included crimes of murder, displacement, looting of property, rape, and sexual violence, in addition to war crimes and crimes against humanity, as happened in the Darfur region and Al-Jazeera state and before them in Khartoum state.

The head of the committee, the acting Attorney General, pointed out that the violations attributed to the rebel Rapid Support Forces included the recruitment of children, as the rebels recruited more than six thousand children, and released more than 19 thousand prisoners from Sudanese prisons who were convicted, awaiting trial, or detained for crimes related to terrorism, human trafficking, drugs, and other serious crimes.

According to what was stated in the press conference, the violations also included attacking places of worship, including mosques, churches, cultural and heritage sites, museums, homes, and document storage facilities, occupying hospitals and using them as military barracks, and looting medicine stores in the Central Medical Supplies Corporation and its branches in several states.

The Sudanhorizon news website indicates that the committee is headed – according to its formation – by the Attorney General – and its members include representatives of several state institutions, including Public Prosecution, the Ministries of Defense, Justice, Foreign Affairs, and Interior, the Intelligence Services, and the National Commission for Human Rights.

The committee’s tasks and powers, according to its formation, are summarized in identifying all violations and crimes that have occurred since April 15, 2023, and summoning any person suspected of involvement in the aforementioned crimes and violations or facing an accusation to investigate and bring him to justice if his involvement or cooperation in crimes and violations of the rebel Rapid Support Forces is proven, as well as identifying all practices that constitute a violation of international humanitarian law and Sudanese laws, and bringing those accused of these violations before Sudanese courts.

The head of the National Committee for Crimes and Violations of the Rapid Support Forces presented in his press conference today preliminary estimates of the damages and losses incurred by many state institutions, including the Ministry of Health, whose losses were estimated at $11 billion, while the losses of the industrial sector in Sudan amounted to $50 billion, and the losses of the Ministry of Information amounted to $30 million, most of which were radio and television equipment, and the losses of antiquities and museums amounted to $109 million, while the losses resulting from the attacks on police headquarters, prosecution offices and courts are being counted, and other huge losses that cannot be counted at present.

The head of the committee said that it recorded the cases it received, interviewed victims and witnesses, and issued arrest warrants, some of which were executed, and the rest of the accused were declared fugitives in accordance with the Criminal Procedure Code.

The committee filed a number of complaints with the court, including against persons accused of committing violations and others collaborating with the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Judgments were issued in about eighty criminal cases, some of which resulted in convictions and others in acquittals.

The committee participated in the work of the Human Rights Council in Geneva during the 56th session of the Council, and submitted a detailed report on all violations committed by the rebel Rapid Support Forces since 04/15/2023, and a detailed report on the number of prosecutions and defendants, and arrest, detention and publication warrants issued by the committee, based on the principles of a fair trial and the ability of the Sudanese judicial system to implement justice, and that the accused has the right to defend and appeal against any legal action taken.

The Committee also called for providing technical support in investigations and consultations and establishing an international fund to compensate those affected, although the Committee’s report was published on the Human Rights Council’s website and a copy of it was delivered in English and French to the Council’s President.

The Chairman of the Committee stressed the independence of its work and that the rule of law is its reference in any work it undertakes, and it is committed to accelerating its work to bring all perpetrators to justice so that they do not escape punishment and to compensate for the damages suffered by citizens whose money and rights were squandered, those who were robbed, those whose honor was violated, and those who were subjected to the largest expulsion and displacement inside and outside the country.