United Nations human rights chief Volker Türk is calling for an end to the siege of El Fasher in Sudan’s North Darfur state, which has resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths and injuries, and the widespread destruction of homes and infrastructure.
“The continuing siege of El Fasher and the relentless fighting are devastating lives everyday on a massive scale,” Türk said in a statement Friday to coincide with the release of a report describing the devastating impact of the seven-month-long siege of El Fasher in Sudan by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
“This alarming situation cannot continue. The Rapid Support Forces must end the horrible siege. And I urge all parties to the conflict to stop attacks on civilians and civilian objects … and to comply with their obligations and commitments under international law,” he said.
Since the siege of El Fasher, the capital of Sudan’s North Darfur state, began in May, the report finds at least 782 civilians have been killed and more than 1,143 injured.
Fighting displaces millions
The RSF and Sudan National Forces have been battling for control of the country since April 2023. Since the RSF and Sudanese warlords made a power grab, plunging the country into chaos, more than 11.5 million people have been forced to flee their homes. About 8.5 million are displaced inside Sudan. Another 3 million have fled as refugees to neighboring countries.
Additionally, the United Nations reports more than half of Sudan’s population or 26.5 million are suffering from acute hunger, with thousands on the brink of famine.
Authors of the report say the findings indicate a persistent disregard of international humanitarian law by the parties to the conflict, “as evidenced by the indiscriminate use of explosive weapons with wide-area effects in populated urban areas and direct attacks against civilians and civilian objects, including attacks on health facilities.”
Seif Magango, a spokesperson for human rights chief Türk, told journalists in Geneva on Friday that the RSF, Sudanese Armed Forces, or SAF, and their allies “have turned the city into a battleground” from which there is no escape.
“There has been regular and intense shelling by the RSF of densely populated residential areas, recurrent airstrikes by the SAF, and artillery shelling by both the SAF and its Allied Joint Forces.
“Residential neighborhoods, markets, hospitals and camps hosting internally displaced people have been struck,” Magango said.
Survivors who fled El Fasher have testified that intense artillery shelling by the RSF on densely populated residential areas and recurrent airstrikes by the SAF and Joint Forces “in most cases were conducted without warning despite the presence of thousands of civilians.”
The U.N. human rights report accuses the warring parties of the indiscriminate use of explosive weapons in populated areas. It says the Zamzam Camp, which hosts hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people, and where famine has been declared, has been shelled repeatedly.
It says the Abu Shouk IDP camp, northwest of El Fasher, housing more than 100,000 internally displaced people from African tribes, has been subjected to recurrent artillery shelling by the RSF, “amounting to direct attacks on civilians and civilian objects.”
Between May 9 and November 28, the U.N. human rights office has documented 13 attacks on health facilities, most attributed to and “deliberately targeted” by the RSF. For example, it notes the Al-Saudi Maternity Hospital, in western El Fasher, “has been repeatedly shelled since the start of the hostilities.”
“This is the last remaining public hospital in the city with the capacity to perform surgery and provide sexual and reproductive health services, including necessary medical care for survivors of sexual violence,” it says, noting that “this is particularly tragic as there has been a surge in cases of sexual violence since the siege began.”
Monitors track sexual violence reports
Human rights monitors have documented numerous reports of sexual violence against women and girls during the siege and as they fled El Fasher after May 2024.
The report quotes a reliable source who says the 20 to 40 victims of sexual violence reaching service providers each month “is considered to be significantly underreported due to stigma and artillery shelling that restricted movement.”
“Attacks on civilians and civilian objects may amount to war crimes,” Magango said. “This alarming situation cannot be allowed to continue. All parties to the conflict must refrain from attacks on civilians and civilian objects and respect international law.”
The report’s authors express concern about a buildup of SAF-allied Joint Forces in the densely populated Zamzam camp. This, coupled with the increased mobilization of fighters along tribal lines across Darfur, they say, “indicates preparations for further hostilities may be under way.”
“Any large-scale attack on Zamzam camp and El Fasher city will catapult civilian suffering to catastrophic levels, deepening the already dire humanitarian situation, including famine conditions,” warned High Commissioner Türk in Friday’s statement.
