Sudan’s UN Representative: What Happened in El Fasher Constitutes a Crime Against Humanity and Genocide
Sudan’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Al-Harith Idris, affirmed that the violations committed by the Rapid Support Forces militia in El Fasher, North Darfur, have transcended the bounds of human rights violations, reaching the level of crimes against humanity and genocide according to international legal standards and definitions.
In his address to the Security Council, Ambassador Idris stated that the events in El Fasher are not an isolated incident, but rather a continuation of a systematic pattern of killing and ethnic cleansing perpetrated by the militia since the outbreak of its rebellion in April 2023. He pointed out that the tragic scenes witnessed by the world in West Darfur against the Masalit tribe are being repeated today in El Fasher, where thousands of unarmed civilians are being killed, neighborhoods and markets are being burned, and hospitals and medical facilities are being looted.
He added that the World Health Organization documented the killing of approximately 450 patients and their companions at the Saudi Hospital in El Fasher, the last functioning health facility in the city, before it was destroyed by the militia during its ongoing siege. He explained that this militia kills civilians and humanitarian workers, as it did in the city of Bara, and commits violations against women and girls.
The Sudanese representative pointed out that El Fasher has become a new symbol of the humanitarian tragedy perpetrated by the organized crimes of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia and those who sponsor, support, finance, and arm it, providing it with mercenaries, political, diplomatic, and media backing.
He affirmed that the Sudanese government has been alerting the Security Council and the international community since 2023 to the criminal nature of this terrorist organization, which is nothing more than a tribal militia led by a single family.
This militia possesses no political, national, or constitutional legitimacy; rather, it is based on an ideology of ethnic supremacy and racism.
Ambassador Al-Harith indicated that the Sudanese government provided the Council and the international community with documented evidence confirming the militia’s use of foreign mercenaries from neighboring countries and Latin America, and that their recruitment, funding, and smuggling across borders to kill Sudanese citizens are carried out under the auspices and supervision of a known regional sponsor.
He added, “However, the Council has not yet taken any practical measures to hold these entities accountable, to prosecute those who fund and support these crimes and this terrorism, or to form a fact-finding committee regarding them.”