“The risk of further large-scale ethnically motivated rapes and atrocities in El Fasher increases by the day.”warned UN human rights chief Volker Türk.
‘Urgent and concrete action’
“Urgent and concrete measures need to be taken to ensure the protection of civilians in El Fasher and the safe passage of those attempting to achieve relative safety.”
The alarming reports come as the humanitarian situation in Sudan continues to deteriorate since the conflict broke out in 2023. With more than 12 million people displaced or stateless and more than 24 million hungry, Sudan’s crisis is considered one of the most serious in the world.
Hundreds of people have reportedly been detained while trying to flee, including a journalist, the OHCHR said. There were also reports of numerous civilian deaths, including local humanitarian volunteers, due to intense artillery shelling last week.
‘External interference’
UN Secretary-General António Guterres told reporters while in Southeast Asia on Monday that the event marked a “terrible climb” to the conflict, highlighting that it was time for the international community to denounce countries that interfere in the war and “provide weapons” to the parties in conflict, urging them to agree to a ceasefire.
Guterres pointed out that the problem is not only the fighting between the army and the RSF, but also the Growing “external interference” which undermines the prospects for a ceasefire and a political solution.
Malnourished and traumatized
“Civilians who escape, fleeing El Fasher, are often held along the road for ransom, and part of the road is controlled by the militia,” Denise Brown, the UN humanitarian coordinator for Sudan, said at Monday’s press briefing.
He said humanitarian organizations have been receiving adults and children who are “dehydrated, malnourished, some injured and all traumatized.”
According to reports received by OHCHR, five men were executed by the RSF for attempting to bring food supplies to the city, which has been under blockade by the RSF militia – vying for power during a brutal civil war with the army – for 18 months.
Ms Brown said some of the RSF victims were allegedly accused of supporting the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), and that information received suggests that dozens of civilians have been killed.
He stressed that the terrible funding situation, only 27 percent of what was requested, has not allowed the UN to respond to the needs of people who are “traumatized, violated and hungry.”
Humanitarian workers at risk
Nearly 130 aid workers have been killed since the conflict broke out in April 2023, and there have been reports of volunteers being killed in El Fasher, Brown said.
“These people are the backbone of the humanitarian response in the most difficult areas and are also protected by international humanitarian law.”he added.
Türk reiterated that RSF commanders have an obligation under international law to protect civilians and ensure the safe passage of humanitarian assistance.