The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights has called on the leadership of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to immediately condemn and stop the killing of people fleeing El-Geneina in Sudan’s West Darfur state. The UN human rights office (OHCHR) said it was gravely concerned at reports of “wanton killings” by “Arab” militia backed by the paramilitary RSF, primarily targeting men from the Masalit community.
In a written statement Saturday, OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said interviews with people who have fled El-Geneina, West Darfur, into Adre in Chad revealed “horrifying accounts” of people being killed on foot by RSF-supported militia.
“Our UN Human Rights officers have heard multiple, corroborating accounts that “Arab” militia are primarily targeting male adults from the Masalit community. All those interviewed also spoke of seeing dead bodies scattered along the road – and the stench of decomposition”, Shamdasani said.
Several people speaking to OHCHR reported seeing dozens of bodies in an area referred to as Shukri, around 10 kilometers from the border, where one or more of the Arab militias reportedly has a base.
“We are gravely concerned that such wanton killings are ongoing and urge immediate action to halt them. People fleeing El-Geneina must be guaranteed safe passage and humanitarian agencies allowed to access to the area to collect the remains of those killed,” the spokesperson said.
According to the UN human rights office, out of 16 people interviewed, 14 testified that they witnessed “summary executions” and the “targeting of groups of civilians” on the road between El-Geneina and the border to Chad – “either the shooting at close range of people ordered to lie on the ground or the opening of fire into crowds”.
The testimonies recounted killings that took place on June 15 and 16, but also in the past week.
“We understand the killings and other violence are continuing and being accompanied by persistent hate speech against the Masalit community, including calls to kill and expel them from Sudan,” Shamdasani said.
“The High Commissioner for Human Rights calls on the RSF leadership to immediately, unequivocally condemn and stop the killing of people fleeing El-Geneina, and other violence and hate speech against them on the basis of their ethnicity. Those responsible for the killings and other violence must be held accountable.”
El-Geneina has been under large-scale and repeated attacks by RSF and allied armed groups since April 24. The militias have targeted districts inhabited by the Masalit, preventing the movement of people, goods, and humanitarian aid, and destroying essential infrastructure.
OHCHR said Saturday, El-Geneina had become uninhabitable. Essential infrastructure had been destroyed and movement of humanitarian aid to the town continued to be blocked.
“We urge the immediate establishment of a humanitarian corridor between Chad and El-Geneina, and safe passage for civilians out of areas affected by the hostilities”, Shamdasani said.
Sudan was plunged into chaos on April 15, when clashes erupted between forces loyal to two rival generals. Sudan's army, led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, commanded by Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, have been fighting for more than two months in Sudan, inflicting destruction on the capital, causing extensive violence in Khartoum and also in Darfur, a vast western region bordering Chad.
Heavy clashes resumed this week between the military and the RSF, after a 72-hour cease-fire expired Wednesday. According to media reports, fighting was worst in West Darfur, where RSF-backed militias attacked civilians and forced thousands to flee. The town of El-Geneina was the area hardest hit by militia attacks.
Since the clashes started in mid-April, nearly 2.6 million people have been displaced, including some 2 million who are internally displaced and around 600,000 who have taken refuge in neighboring countries. More than 150,000 people have fled to Chad.
Humanitarian needs in Sudan were already at record levels before the situation deteriorated. The number of people in need of humanitarian aid stands now at 24.7 million people – more than half of Sudan’s population. Among them are 13 million children in urgent need of lifesaving humanitarian support.
Before the fighting started, Sudan hosted about 1.2 million refugees, one of the largest refugee populations in Africa, some 3.7 million Sudanese were internally displaced, mostly in the Darfur region that has experienced a volatile security situation since 2003.
As of June 2023, there are some 5.7 million women, men, and children internally displaced. More than 800,000 Sudanese had fled to neighboring countries before the clashes escalated. The number of people who have fled Sudan is now estimated at more than 1.4 million people.
Further information
Full text: Comment by UN Human Rights Spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani, raising alarm on killings of people fleeing El Geneina in West Darfur, Sudan, published June 24, 2023
https://www.ohchr.org/en/statements-and-speeches/2023/06/comment-un-human-rights-spokesperson-ravina-shamdasani-raising