Amnesty: Sudanese paramilitary guilty of war crimes in Darfur

Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have been accused of carrying out war crimes in the city of El-Fasher by Amnesty International on 25th November, The New Arab via agencies reports.

The RSF have slowly gained control of the Darfur region from the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), prompting major alarm amongst global organisations over a humanitarian emergency. Since the Sudanese civil war began in April 2023, Darfur has suffered from starvation, mass displacement and atrocities committed against innocent civilians.

These concerns reached a heightened level last month as the city of El-Fasher, North Darfur state’s capital, fell to the RSF. Since it seized control, evidence of mass atrocities has steadily accumulated in the city, such as attacks on civilians in mosques alongside the brutal massacre of 460 patients, and intensifying drone strikes across the city.

Amnesty International issued an official statement on 25th November, claiming the actions carried out in El-Fasher by the RSF constitute war crimes. In a report, the international rights group is said to have gathered testimonies from civilians describing the atrocities committed.

Witnesses described mass executions of unarmed men, the rape of young women and girls, as well as civilians being taken as hostages for ransom by RSF fighters. Furthermore, it was reported that hundreds of dead bodies were left lying in the streets of the El-Fasher.

Amnesty’s secretary-general, Agnès Callamard, spoke on the issue: “This persistent, widespread violence against civilians constitutes war crimes and may also constitute other crimes under international law.”

The witness testimonies gathered for Amnesty’s report corroborate other reports of mass executions and widespread sexual violence in El-Fasher.

Multiple states have called for a ceasefire in Sudan, but the military chief of the SAF, Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan has abruptly declined recent ceasefire negotiations. His decision likely stems from the increasing frequency of these war crimes and atrocity accusations, with the EU recently imposing sanctions on the RSF for their abuse against civilians.

The New Arab via agencies, Maghrebi.org