Human Rights Commission: Rapid Support Forces Continue to Commit Atrocities in El Fasher

The Citizen

The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reported today (Friday) that killings and atrocities continue in El Fasher, with the confirmed deaths of hundreds at the hands of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

At a press conference, OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani stressed the need to investigate the atrocities in El Fasher and hold the perpetrators accountable. She confirmed that the killing of civilians in El Fasher and Abu Shouk camp is ongoing.

A press release stated that more details about the atrocities committed during and after the fall of El Fasher to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Sudan have begun to emerge since the RSF launched a large-scale attack on the city on October 23. The release added, “We have received harrowing accounts of summary executions, mass killings, rape, attacks on humanitarian workers, looting, abductions, and forced displacement,” according to a press release issued by the Human Rights Commission on Friday.

The Commission reported that its office received testimonies from people who fled El Fasher in terror and survived the horrific journey to Tawila – approximately 70 kilometers away, a three- to four-day walk.

It added that it received horrific videos and other images showing serious violations of international humanitarian law and grave human rights violations.

The Commission revealed that communications were down and the situation on the ground was chaotic, making it difficult to obtain firsthand information from inside the city. “We estimate that the number of civilians killed and those rendered incapacitated during the Rapid Support Forces’ attack on the city and its escape routes, as well as in the days following its capture, could reach into the hundreds.”

The statement added that the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights received alarming reports of the killing of patients and wounded individuals inside the Saudi Maternity Hospital and in various buildings in the First Class and Airport districts that were being temporarily used as medical centers.

“It also received disturbing reports of sexual violence.”

Humanitarian partners reported that at least 25 women were gang-raped when Rapid Support Forces entered a shelter for displaced people near El Fasher University.

Eyewitnesses confirmed that Rapid Support Forces personnel singled out women and girls and raped them at gunpoint, forcing the remaining displaced people – approximately 100 families – to flee the site amidst gunfire and intimidation of elderly residents.

In addition, the committee documented the killing of aid workers and local volunteers supporting vulnerable communities in El Fasher. Two local medics were killed in El Fasher between October 27 and 29, and the organization stated that it “recorded at least four incidents of attacks on humanitarian workers and local volunteers.” “We also confirmed the detention of three doctors in El Fasher by the Rapid Support Forces.”

The statement also noted reports of serious violations in the context of the Rapid Support Forces’ takeover of Bara in North Kordofan, including allegations of the summary execution of five Red Crescent volunteers. The number of civilians killed on or around October 26 is estimated to be in the hundreds, some during hostilities, while others were summarily executed on suspicion of supporting the Sudanese Armed Forces.

“But the death toll is likely much higher. We continue to monitor this extremely serious situation.

These latest reports of serious violations, the High Commissioner adds, may amount to multiple crimes under international law, in and around El Fasher and in Bara. The statement stressed the need for independent, prompt, transparent, and thorough investigations into all these violations of international law and for those responsible to be held accountable. The rights of victims and their families to truth, justice, and reparations must also be guaranteed.”

The statement noted that “the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, reiterates his call on states with influence over the parties to the conflict to take urgent action to end the violence, stop the flow of weapons that fuels the ongoing violations, and ensure the effective protection of civilians.”