UN Reveals Genocide, Including Mass Killings and Rape in This Country
The United Nations (UN) has stated that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan are conducting mass killings, rapes, kidnappings, and deliberately starving civilians in al-Fashir, North Darfur, Sudan.
Recent UN investigations suggest that this series of actions is part of a deliberate policy and bears the hallmarks of genocide.
These findings were presented by the UN Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan on Wednesday, following an investigation into crimes committed when the RSF seized al-Fashir last year after a prolonged siege. Survivors told investigators that they were raped in rooms still filled with the bodies of newly killed civilians, including their own family members.
The report notes that the RSF and its allied groups have committed various war crimes by besieging the city for an extended period, obstructing the entry of humanitarian aid, and attacking infrastructure related to food production. These steps are assessed as a deliberate attempt to starve the civilian population.
“The patterns we have documented in al-Fascir, including sieges, attacks on civilian infrastructure, restrictions on humanitarian access, and widespread violations against civilians, are a grave warning,” said Mohamed Chande Othman, head of the UN mission, as quoted by Reuters on Monday.
According to the latest report, additional evidence shows a widespread and systematic pattern of RSF actions, including large-scale killings, mass rape, and intentional starvation. The UN assesses that all these actions are part of a policy that was designed and implemented systematically.
For over three years of civil war, the RSF has denied these allegations of violations. The group has described various reports of atrocities as enemy fabrications and has also accused opposing parties of committing violations.
The UN had previously concluded that the mass killings of non-Arab communities during the RSF’s seizure of al-Fashir exhibited characteristics of genocide. Meanwhile, the UN Human Rights Council on Monday condemned the ongoing violence and formed an urgent investigation team to probe alleged violations in other regions.
The UN head of human rights also warned that similar patterns of violence could potentially occur around al-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan, which is inhabited by approximately 500,000 people, including more than 83,000 internally displaced persons.
“The international community must take note of these lessons and act to prevent further catastrophe,” said Othman.