Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have allegedly committed numerous crimes against humanity during their siege of the city of el-Fasher in Darfur, according to a report by UN investigators.
The report accuses the group of murder, torture, enslavement, rape, sexual slavery, sexual violence, forced displacement and persecution on ethnic, gender and political grounds. While the RSF is not the only party implicated, as broader evidence of alleged war crimes by both the RSF and the regular army has surfaced, both groups have denied wrongdoing.
The UN report outlines that both groups have employed strategies of targeted attacks on civilians, including execution, arbitrary detention, and denial of essential needs in detention facilities, amounting to deliberate military strategies.
Fact-Finding Mission chair, Mohamed Chande Othman, highlighted the inhuman treatment civilians face, stating, These are not accidental tragedies but deliberate strategies amounting to war crimes. The RSF’s actions included severe starvation tactics that might equate to extermination.
In April, the RSF stormed the Zamzam camp near el-Fasher, displacing tens of thousands of vulnerable individuals amidst already dire conditions leading to a declared famine.
The international community's concern is heightened as the US has accused the RSF of genocide targeting Darfur's non-Arab population. The US has also implemented sanctions against army chief Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan for his role in exacerbating civilian suffering.
With over a year of siege on el-Fasher, ongoing research indicates preparations to further entrap civilians. The report, titled A War of Atrocities, urges international authorities to enforce an arms embargo and establish judicial processes for accountability.
Our findings leave no room for doubt: civilians are paying the highest price in this war, Mr. Othman asserted, as the toll of the conflict escalates with over 13 million people displaced and tens of thousands reported dead.
