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United Nations

Grave Alarm Raised Over Escalating Atrocities in El Fasher, Sudan

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

The fall of El Fasher to the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has left tens of thousands of civilians trapped in a city that has been crippled by 18 months of siege, starvation, and bombardment. The UN Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan has gathered harrowing testimonies from survivors, revealing a deliberate pattern of ethnically targeted attacks, assaults, sexual violence, looting, and mass forced displacement. The mission's chair, Mohamed Chande Othman, urges the international community to choose between silence or solidarity, calling for accountability and justice for the victims.

Key Takeaways:

  • The UN Fact-Finding Mission has documented a deliberate pattern of ethnically targeted attacks, assaults, sexual violence, looting, and mass forced displacement in El Fasher.
  • The mission has gathered harrowing testimonies from survivors, including accounts of ethnically targeted executions of unarmed civilians.
  • The humanitarian crisis in El Fasher has deepened since the RSF's takeover of the city, with tens of thousands of civilians remaining trapped.
  • The Fact-Finding Mission's mandate, renewed by the UN Human Rights Council in September, "is not just a procedural extension — It is a lifeline for accountability and a signal that the world is watching."
  • The mission's latest report, "Paths to Justice: Accountability for Atrocities in Sudan," found reasonable grounds to believe both warring parties have committed war crimes and atrocity crimes against civilians.
  • The report calls for the establishment of an independent and impartial judicial body to end decades of impunity and prosecute those responsible for serious crimes under international law.
  • The International Criminal Court's jurisdiction should be expanded across Sudan, and a specific victim support and reparations office should be established, backed by a dedicated trust fund.
  • The report highlights systemic failures in domestic accountability, selective justice, and impunity, amounting to crimes against humanity, such as persecution, and potentially extermination.
  • The international community is urged to act decisively to close the accountability gap and implement accountability measures to tackle impunity and address root causes of recurring conflict.

Statistics:

  • Tens of thousands of civilians remain trapped in El Fasher, subject to constant shelling, hunger, and despair.
  • 18 months of siege, starvation, and bombardment have crippled the city of El Fasher.
  • The Rapid Support Forces have been implicated in ethnically targeted attacks, rape and sexual violence, starvation tactics, and destruction of essential infrastructure.
  • The International Criminal Court has convicted Ali Kushayb on October 6, representing a landmark legal breakthrough for international accountability for atrocities committed in Sudan.

Sources:

  • "UN Fact-Finding Mission on Sudan expresses grave alarm over escalating atrocities in El Fasher." (No date).
  • "Paths to Justice: Accountability for Atrocities in Sudan" (No date).
  • United Nations: Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) (No date).
  • A/HRC/RES/54/2 (October 2023).
  • A/HRC/RES/57/2 (September 2024).
  • A/HRC/60/2 (No date).

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