Since the powerful paramilitary group made a major incursion into the city last week, the UN human rights office has received “Horrific accounts of summary executions, massacres, rapes, attacks on aid workers, looting, kidnappings and forced displacement“, said Seif Magango, spokesperson for the UN human rights office (OHCHR).
Speaking from Nairobi to journalists in Geneva, Mr. Magango said many testimonies had been received from residents who fled in terror as the city fell and then “survived the menacing journey to Tawila, about 70 kilometers away” – a journey that takes three to four days on foot.
Overcrowded camps in Tawila
More than 36,000 people have fled since Saturdaymainly on foot, to Tawila – a town west of El Fasher which already shelters more than 652,000 displaced people people, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The RSF militia, born from the genocidal violence of the Darfur conflict 20 years ago, has been engaged in a brutal conflict with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) since April 2023.
Sudan has become the scene of the world’s largest humanitarian and displacement crisis on record, with around 14 million people displaced out of a population of 51 million. Famine is widespread and epidemics of cholera and other deadly diseases are increasing.
The RSF took control of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, after more than 500 days of siege, having forced the Sudanese army to withdraw earlier this week.
There are alarming reports of killings of the sick and injured inside the Saudi maternity ward and in buildings in the Dara Jawila and Al-Matar neighborhoods, which served as temporary medical centers.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 460 patients and attendants were killed in the alleged massacre.
“These extremely serious allegations raise urgent questions about the circumstances of these killings in what should be safe locations,” Mr Magango said.
He called for an independent, transparent and prompt investigation to ensure justice is served.
OHCHR has also received alarming reports of sexual violence from humanitarian partners on the ground. “At least 25 women were gang raped when RSF forces entered a shelter for displaced people near El Fasher University.. Witnesses confirm that RSF personnel selected women and girls and raped them at gunpoint,” Mr. Magango said.
This violence has also targeted humanitarian workers and local volunteers who support vulnerable communities in El Fasher.
Attacks on doctors
The World Health Organization (WHO) has corroborated reports of attacks on health facilities and personnel, condemning the kidnapping of six health workers – four doctors, a nurse and a pharmacist. Saudi maternity hospital attacked five times in October alone.
Following the fall of El Fasher, the UN health agency is currently “unable to provide assistance to those affected by injuries caused by multiple attacks on civilians”, explained Dr Teresa Zakaria, head of the WHO’s humanitarian operations unit.
The WHO has confirmed that 189 attacks have been verified in Sudan this year, leaving 1,670 people dead and 419 injured. “Eighty-six percent of all these attack-related deaths have occurred this year alone, indicating that attacks are becoming more deadly,” Dr. Zakaria said.
Massive lack of funding
“To date, the Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan is only 27.4 percent funded – a very, very significant gap,” added Dr Zakaria. “For the health sector itself, funding is 37 percent, so we have a lot of difficulty finding resources. That’s why we call on the international community not to abandon the Sudanese people, because the main actors are our Sudanese organizations, which continue to be present and provide aid“.
With the capture of El Fasher, the RSF’s territorial control now extends to all of Darfur and parts of southern Sudan, while the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) controls the capital, Khartoum, as well as much of the north and center of the country.
Originally published at Almouwatin.com
