UN Stresses Need to Halt Military Support to Parties in Sudan Conflict
Geneva –Sudanhorizon
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, has renewed his call for an immediate end to the violence in Darfur and Kordofan, stressing the need for urgent and bold action from the international community.
In a statement issued Friday, he said, “Traumatized civilians remain trapped inside El Fasher (the capital of North Darfur), prevented from leaving.”
He added, “I fear that horrific atrocities will continue inside the city, such as summary executions, rape, and ethnically motivated violence. For those who manage to escape, the violence does not end, as the escape routes themselves are scenes of unimaginable cruelty.”
Türk also issued a strong warning about the unfolding events in Kordofan.
He noted the increasing number of civilian casualties, destruction, and mass displacement since the capture of El Fasher, “with no signs of de-escalation. On the contrary, developments on the ground clearly indicate preparations for an intensification of hostilities.” He added that, given the catastrophic violence in El Fasher, states—especially those with influence over the parties to the conflict—are warned that further massacres and atrocities will occur if they do not act swiftly and decisively.
He said, “The Security Council arms embargo is clear: the continued provision of military support that enables parties to perpetrate grave violations, must stop.”
He called for an immediate end to the violence in both Darfur and Kordofan and stressed the urgent need for the international community to act boldly.
Several UN human rights experts expressed grave concern over reports of widespread atrocities committed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in El Fasher, including the killing of civilians and the use of sexual and gender-based violence against women and girls.
After a 540-day siege, the RS seized control of El Fasher on October 26, “committing mass atrocities and creating a catastrophic humanitarian crisis.” The experts condemned “the scale and brutality of the reported crimes in El Fasher, including widespread, systematic, and sadistic levels of sexual violence deliberately used as a strategy of domination and humiliation aimed at destroying communities,” according to a press release.
They added, “We are particularly appalled by reports of women being raped in front of their relatives and detained for days in harsh conditions amounting to torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.”
They cited eyewitness accounts indicating that upon entering displacement camps near El Fasher University, Rapid Support Forces (RSF) selected women and girls at gunpoint, gang-raped at least 25 of them, and then forced at least 100 displaced families to flee amid gunfire. Elderly people were also intimidated. Reports indicate that those fleeing were subjected to humiliating body searches, acts amounting to enforced disappearance and abduction for ransom, and that women attempting to escape were subjected to further sexual assault. Many survivors of the violence remain missing without access to medical or psychosocial care. Entire groups were also reportedly stopped along long stretches of road and subjected to beatings and racially motivated abuse.
The experts cited credible reports of extrajudicial killings of civilians in El Fasher by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), acts prohibited under international law and constituting war crimes and potentially crimes against humanity. They stressed the urgent need for an immediate cessation of these practices and for swift and independent investigations.
The experts added that these crimes are reminiscent of previous RSF military campaigns in Zamzam, El Geneina, and Ardamata, where thousands were killed and women were systematically raped. They stated, “The deliberate targeting of Sudanese people belonging to the Fur, Masalit, and Zaghawa communities—including through sexual violence—is clearly being carried out with the intent to terrorize, displace, and destroy them, in whole or in part.”
The experts appealed to the international community to use all available means to immediately end the bloodshed, support the protection of civilians, determine the fate and whereabouts of the disappeared, facilitate humanitarian access and protect humanitarian workers, and “hold those responsible for these crimes accountable—including those who provided support and assistance through the transfer of weapons and other forms of logistical support.”
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