UN Report Finds Sudan RSF Committed Genocide in el-Fasher
A UN Fact-Finding Mission has concluded that Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces committed genocide in el-Fasher through mass killings, gang rapes and deliberate starvation as part of an intentional policy. [1]
UN Investigation Finds Genocide in el-Fasher
A UN Fact-Finding Mission found that the paramilitary’s systematic campaign of violence in Darfur amounted to genocide. [1] Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces committed genocide in the western city of el-Fasher, carrying out mass killings, gang rapes and deliberate starvation as part of an intentional policy, according to the United Nations investigation. [1] The UN Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan released its findings on Wednesday, concluding that the RSF’s systematic campaign of violence against civilians during and after its siege of the capital of North Darfur state amounted to genocide, building on a February report that had already identified hallmarks of the crime. [1] The mission’s chairman warned that the findings have urgent lessons for el-Obeid, another major city now ringed by RSF forces. [1] In Wednesday’s report, the fact-finding mission had already concluded in its February report that mass killings of non-Arab communities when the RSF captured el-Fasher bore hallmarks of genocide. [1] Its new report said it found additional evidence that the widespread and systematic pattern of conduct of the RSF, including large-scale killings, mass rapes and deliberate starvation, was part of an intended policy. [1]
Details of Killings, Rapes and Starvation
Survivors in el-Fasher described being raped in rooms where bodies of recently killed civilians, including their own family members, were still lying on the ground. [1] The report found that the RSF and its allies committed the war crime of starvation by imposing a prolonged siege on the city, impeding relief supplies and shelling food production systems. [1] The mission chairman stated that the patterns documented in el-Fasher serve as a stark warning. [1] The patterns include encirclement, attacks on civilian infrastructure, restrictions on humanitarian access and widespread abuses against civilians. [1] The international community must heed these lessons and act to prevent further catastrophe, the chairman added. [1] The RSF has denied such abuses in more than three years of war with the Sudanese military, saying the accounts have been manufactured by its enemies and making counteraccusations against them. [1]
UN report details RSF genocide in el-Fasher involving mass killings, gang rapes and starvation. — Source: anadolu
Warnings for el-Obeid and Kordofan Region
The mission chairman warned that the findings have urgent lessons for el-Obeid, another major city now ringed by RSF forces, where the UN human rights chief has warned a catastrophe is unfolding. [1] UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk warned last week that a catastrophe was unfolding around el-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state in south-central Sudan. [1] His office had documented patterns of summary executions, abductions, torture and sexual violence in the surrounding region. [1] The United Kingdom and other states have warned of a risk of large-scale atrocities as the RSF have massed forces around el-Obeid, now home to about half a million people, including more than 83,000 internally displaced people. [1]
International Response and New Inquiry
Members of the UN Human Rights Council on Monday condemned the violence and set up an urgent inquiry into reported abuses there. [1] For much of Sudan’s civil war, international attention has centred on Khartoum and the Darfur region. [1] In recent weeks, however, attention has increasingly shifted to el-Obeid as fighting has intensified across the Kordofan region in central Sudan. [1]
Broader Sudanese Conflict Context
The RSF has denied such abuses in more than three years of war with the Sudanese military, saying the accounts have been manufactured by its enemies and making counteraccusations against them. [1] The fact-finding mission had already concluded in its February report that mass killings of non-Arab communities when the RSF captured el-Fasher bore hallmarks of genocide. [1] Its new report said it found additional evidence that the widespread and systematic pattern of conduct of the RSF, including large-scale killings, mass rapes and deliberate starvation, was part of an intended policy. [1]
Ongoing Global Conflicts
A Syrian soldier was killed and two others injured during a mine-clearing operation in Aleppo amid ongoing efforts to remove war remnants across Syria. [2] An Oxford University professor claimed that the average survival time for a Russian soldier on the battlefield is 20 to 35 minutes, drawing from reports by a Russian media outlet in exile that rely on observations from Russian war bloggers on Telegram. [3] A war analyst from Black Bird Group described such minute-based estimates as questionable because of uncertainties over how the timing begins, who measures it and the quality of the data. [3] The analyst noted that drone technology has made the battlefield highly lethal, with drones detecting and responding rapidly to larger movements, making vehicle and tank use at the front line much more difficult. [3] The analyst added that Ukraine causes Russia substantial monthly personnel losses, most from drones and some from artillery, while Russia continues to recruit enough soldiers each month to replace a large portion of those losses. [3] In Lebanon, at least 4,319 deaths and 12,203 injuries due to hostilities have been recorded by the Ministry of Public Health since 2 March, with 646,107 people returned to their areas of origin and around 500,000 remaining displaced as of 6 July. [4] Over the past day, 268 combat clashes occurred on the battlefield in Ukraine, with the highest number on the Pokrovsk front where Ukrainian forces repelled 38 assaults. [5]
What to watch next: The patterns documented in el-Fasher, including encirclement and restrictions on humanitarian access, serve as a stark warning for el-Obeid where RSF forces are now massing, while fighting continues with 268 clashes recorded over the past day on the Ukraine battlefield.
