People who fled El Fasher take refuge in Tawil. Sudan: More reports of atrocities in El Fasher International Law
New reports are emerging of atrocities committed during and after the capture of El Fasher, the capital of Sudan’s North Darfur province, by the Rapid Reaction Force. The representative of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), Seif Magango, spoke about this on Friday at a briefing for journalists in Geneva.
Mass crimes in El Fasher
Speaking via video link from Nairobi, he noted that since the Rapid Reaction Forces invasion of the city on October 23, OHCHR had received “horrifying reports” of extrajudicial killings, mass murders, rapes, attacks on aid workers, robberies and kidnappings.
In an interview with UN News Service, UN Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan, Denise Brown, spoke about information coming out of El Fasher.
“We have begun to receive credible reports of extrajudicial killings of unarmed civilians, especially men, who are forced to the ground and shot. We have also received credible reports of extrajudicial killings of civilians attempting to flee the fighting in El Fasher,” she said.
Situation in Tawila
Brown has just returned from the town of Tawila, where is where most of the people fleeing El Fasher are heading.
“They can’t take a bus or a car, they walk,” Brown says.
“Our Office has received testimonies from those who fled El Fasher in terror and survived the dangerous journey to Tawila, some 70km away. This is a three to four day journey. We have received shocking videos and other images showing serious violations of international humanitarian law and gross violations of human rights,” Seif Magango said.
Denise Brown also reported that fewer people have been arriving in Tawila in recent days. This may mean that the Rapid Reaction Force is not releasing the remaining people from El Fasher.
Communication with the city has been cut off, hampering any attempts to obtain and confirm information. OHCHR estimates that the death toll during and following the capture of El Fasher by the Rapid Reaction Force may be in the hundreds. maternity hospital, which killed 460 people, and also reported attacks on premises in the Daraja Ula and Al Matar areas, which were temporarily used as medical centers.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), millions of people across Sudan are unable to receive medical care due to ongoing attacks on health facilities.
Sexual violence
There are also reports of sexual violence, according to an OHCHR spokesperson. At least 25 women were gang-raped when the Rapid Action Force attacked a shelter for internally displaced people near the University of El Fasher. The militants also forced about 100 families to leave the shelter.
Attacks on aid workers
On 27 October, at least two local aid workers were killed in El Fasher. As of 29 October, OHCHR had recorded at least four incidents of attacks against humanitarian personnel and local volunteers. Under the current conditions, delivering humanitarian aid to the city is extremely difficult and dangerous. The Rapid Reaction Force laid siege to the city for over 500 days.
“We were unable to gain access to El Fasher for over 500 days. In practice, this means that our humanitarian convoys are blocked, so there are no supplies of food and medicine, no clean water,” said Humanitarian Coordinator in Sudan Denise Brown.
Violations in Bar, North Kordofan
There are also reports of serious violations in connection with the capture of the town of Bara in Northern Kordofan, including the alleged extrajudicial execution of five Red Crescent volunteers. At least 50 civilians have been killed, some of them for allegedly supporting the Sudanese Armed Forces.
“These latest serious violations committed in and around El Fasher, as well as in Bara, potentially constitute crimes under international law. An independent, prompt, transparent and thorough investigation must be carried out… and those responsible must be brought to justice,” said Magango. population.