“We see massive violations of international human rights law, direct attacks against civilians, non-compliance with international humanitarian law, which regulates the conduct of hostilities, and that the attacks largely target civilians“, said Chaloka Beyani, who recently took office as Special Advisor to the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide.
Mr. Beyani said UN News In an interview Thursday, he spoke with the resident coordinator in Sudan, Denise Brown, and plans to issue an advisory to Secretary-General António GuterresTHE Security Counciland the United Nations system as a whole.
Sound the alarm
“Once our office sounds the alarm, the alarm sounds beyond ordinary violations of human rights or international humanitarian law,” he said.
“This indicates that the threshold is about to be crossed and therefore action must be taken quickly.”
Graphical and video reports started circulating at the end of last month online of apparent war crimes committed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia as its fighters finally took control of Darfur’s capital, El Fasher, from government troops after more than 500 days of siege.
Horror in Darfur
“We don’t hear the screams, but – as we sit here today – the horror continues,” said UN relief chief Tom Fletcher. make a presentation to the Security Council on October 31.
Mr. Beyani’s office said indicators of risk of atrocity crimes were present in Sudan, but stressed that only an international tribunal or other legal body can determine the existence of genocide.
UN support International Criminal Court (ICC) expressed deep concern in a statement on Monday over reports of massacres, rapes and other crimes in El Fasher, noting that its investigation into alleged war crimes committed since the outbreak of war in April 2023 is ongoing.
“As part of the ongoing investigation, the office is taking immediate action regarding the alleged crimes in El-Fasher in order to preserve and collect relevant evidence for use in future prosecutions,” the prosecutor’s office stressed.
RSF agrees to “humanitarian ceasefire”: reports
The RSF reportedly agreed to a “humanitarian ceasefire” on Thursday, following growing criticism of the actions of its fighters in and around El Fasher.
Militia leaders said they would accept the terms of the truce proposed by a mediation group consisting of the United States, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, according to media reports.
The agony continues for civilians
At the same time, the UN warns of a worsening of the humanitarian situation in North Darfur, where thousands of families displaced from El Fasher live in extremely difficult conditions.
“In and around Tawila, displaced people do not have adequate food, clean water, shelter or medical care.“, UN deputy spokesperson Farhan Haq said on Thursday.
Humanitarian agencies are working with local partners to set up new camps, adding to the more than 650,000 people already in Tawila.
In Tawila Al Omda alone, more than 3,000 new arrivals are in urgent need of plastic sheeting, mats and blankets as temperatures drop.
Many, including the injured, disabled people and unaccompanied children, sleep in the open. Similar conditions affect more than 6,500 people in Daba Al Naira and Um Jangour camps.
