Arab Experts Centre Documents Sudanese Position on the Siege of El Fasher as a Fully Fledged War Crime

Omdurman – Sudanhorizon
The results of a large-scale survey among Sudanese citizens regarding the siege imposed on the city of El Fasher in North Darfur State — conducted by the Arab Experts Centre for Press Services and Public Opinion Studies, with 68,359 participants, open online for five days and reviewed by Sudanhorizon news outlet — revealed that 93.5% of participants believe the international community is not fulfilling its duty to end the siege, while 98.1% of respondents said the siege of El Fasher constitutes a fully fledged war crime under the standards of international humanitarian law.
An expert from the Centre told Sudanhorizon that this near-unanimous view reflects deep public awareness of the gravity of the siege and the severe violations of civilians’ rights it entails, including the denial of food, medicine, and essential services. The expert added that the results also show that attempts to justify or downplay the situation have failed to alter public opinion, which sees the siege as a systematic act rising to the level of crimes that require international accountability.
According to the survey results, 81.2% of respondents believe what is happening in El Fasher is part of an international conspiracy, while 13.6% were unsure and answered “maybe.” The Centre’s expert explained that the majority of participants perceive the crisis not as a purely internal conflict, but as one in which external parties may have an interest in prolonging the siege or using it to achieve political or economic goals. He added: “This sense of conspiracy stems from accumulated negative experiences with previous international positions, and from the popular reading of the slow or absent serious action by major powers and international institutions.”
The results also showed that 88.4% of participants believe that the continuation of the siege could exacerbate the crisis and extend it to other parts of Darfur, compared to only 6.5% who deemed this unlikely.
When participants were asked about the best solution to lift the siege and end the crisis, open-ended responses overwhelmingly called for a decisive military solution, supporting the armed forces and allied movements, opening humanitarian corridors, imposing sanctions on the supporters of the Rapid Support Forces, and designating it as a terrorist organisation.

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