A recent report by United Nations experts shed light on grave atrocities committed by paramilitary forces and allied militias vying for power in Sudan.
According to the report, these groups engaged in widespread ethnic killings and sexual violence while seizing control of large swathes of western Darfur.
Such actions, the experts warned, could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The report painted a disturbing picture of the brutality inflicted by the Arab-dominated Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on Africans in Darfur.
It outlined how the RSF, under the command of Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, managed to assert control over four out of Darfur’s five states. This control was achieved through intricate financial networks involving numerous companies.
In April 2023, Sudan was plunged into turmoil as tensions between the country’s military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) reached a breaking point, resulting in violent clashes on the streets of the capital, Khartoum.
While fighting spread to various parts of the country, the situation in Sudan’s Darfur region unfolded differently. There, the RSF launched brutal attacks on African civilians, particularly targeting the ethnic Masalit community.
Darfur gained notoriety two decades ago due to genocide and war crimes perpetrated by Janjaweed Arab militias against Central or East African populations.
Sadly, this dark chapter seems to have resurfaced.
Karim Khan, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, stated in late January 2024 that there are grounds to believe both sides are engaged in possible war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide in Darfur.
The panel of experts said Darfur is experiencing “its worst violence since 2005.”
Humanitarian Crisis Unveiled: Mass Displacement, Atrocities, and Unspeakable Violence
The ongoing conflict has triggered a significant humanitarian crisis, leading to the displacement of around 6.8 million people.
Within Sudan, 5.4 million individuals have been forced to flee their homes, while an additional 1.4 million have sought refuge in other nations.
According to experts, among these displaced individuals, approximately 555,000 crossed into neighboring Chad.
The RSF and rival Sudanese government forces had both used heavy artillery and shelling in highly populated areas, causing widespread destruction of critical water, sanitation, education, and healthcare facilities.
The panel, citing intelligence sources, disclosed that in the city of Geneina, the capital of West Darfur state situated close to the Chad border, a staggering estimate of between 10,000 to 15,000 individuals lost their lives as a result of the violence.
Furthermore, the report emphasized the widespread prevalence of sexual violence perpetrated by the RSF and its allied militia groups.
The panel said that women and girls as young as 14 years old were raped by RSF elements in a UN World Food Program storage facility that the paramilitary force controlled, in their homes, or when returning home to collect belongings after being displaced by the violence.
“Racial slurs toward the Masalit and non-Arab community formed part of the attacks,” the panel said. “Neighborhoods and homes were continuously attacked, looted, burned and destroyed,” especially those where Masalit and other African communities lived, and their people were harassed, assaulted, sexually abused, and at times executed.
The experts noted that the RSF specifically targeted prominent Masalit community members, including leaders, lawyers, doctors, and human rights activists, resulting in numerous fatalities.
Additionally, the RSF and its allies looted and destroyed hospitals and medical facilities, leading to the collapse of health services and the deaths of 37 women with childbirth complications and 200 patients in need of kidney dialysis.
After the governor of West Darfur was killed in June 2023, Masalit and African communities sought refuge at Ardamata, near Geneina.
However, as thousands moved out at midnight, they were met with indiscriminate gunfire from RSF and allied militias at a bridge. Survivors estimate around 1,000 people were killed.
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