Sudan briefs UN Human Rights Commission on RSF ‘atrocities’ against civilians

By Adel Abdelrheem and Rania Abu Shamala

KHARTOUM, Sudan / ISTANBUL (AA) - Sudan on Saturday briefed the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and several international organizations in Geneva on the “horrific atrocities” committed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the North Darfur city of El-Fasher and Bara of North Kordofan.

According to the state news agency SUNA, Sudan’s Permanent Representative Hassan Hamid met with Nada Al-Nashif, the deputy high commissioner for human rights, and senior officials from the Africa and Sudan Division at the UN headquarters in Geneva.

Hamid presented details of “the brutal crimes” carried out by the RSF militia since Oct. 26 until now in El-Fasher and surrounding areas, the outlet said.

The Sudanese delegate said the international community’s inaction has emboldened the RSF “to commit these horrific atrocities.”

He outlined evidence of what he described as “ethnically motivated executions, including the mass killings of patients, caregivers, and medical staff at the Saudi Maternity Hospital in El-Fasher,” and also detailed “similar atrocities committed by the militia in Bara.”

On Oct. 25, the RSF announced that they had retaken the city of Bara, located about 35 kilometers northeast of El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state.

The seizure triggered large waves of displacement, amid accusations by government and human rights organizations for the RSF of committing abuses against civilians.

On Wednesday, RSF leader Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo (Hemedti) admitted that “violations” had occurred by his forces in El-Fasher, claiming that investigation committees had been formed.

Since April 15, 2023, the Sudanese army and the RSF have been locked in a war that numerous regional and international mediations have failed to end. The conflict has killed about 20,000 people and displaced over 15 million as refugees and internally displaced persons, according to UN and local reports.