The UN condemns the atrocities committed by Sudanese paramilitaries in the capture of Al Fashir

Barcelona"The Sudanese city of Al Fashir, the scene of catastrophic levels of human suffering, has descended into an even darker hell." This was the stark assessment of Tom Fletcher, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, during Thursday evening's session of the UN Security Council. The UN's executive body debated and condemned the atrocities and the "crimes" committed by the Sudanese Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitaries during the capture of this city Just days ago, this included the killing of nearly 500 civilians at the Saudi Maternity Hospital. This capture and the massive violent repression that followed have forced more than 15,000 people to flee the city in two days and head towards Tawila, in western Sudan, where they are currently in makeshift camps.

Fletcher warned at the UN that the majority of these displaced people were women and children who now face extortion, violence, and kidnapping. He also noted that, in addition to the violence, Sudan is also suffering from a severe hunger crisis, with more than 24 million people (40% of the population) lacking sufficient food, according to the UN. "After almost a year in this job," Fletcher said, referring to his role as the UN's humanitarian emergency response chief, "I have to be honest, and I think I've reached the limits of my capacity and the UN's authority to do this." He added, "The crisis in Sudan is international." Following an intense debate, in which Sudan's UN representative also participated and accused the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of being "complicit" in barbarity As the main sponsors of the FSR, the UN Security Council has issued a statement warning of the "risk of large-scale atrocities, including ethnically motivated atrocities" in Sudan. The Sudanese delegate has also had to respond to criticism of his government's decision to expel the representative of the UN World Food Programme from the country, whom they accuse of interfering in internal affairs. The African Commission on Human Rights, of the African Union (AU), has also condemned the "mass atrocities," which could constitute crimes against humanity committed in Al Fashir. In the last two days, more than 15,000 displaced people have arrived in Tawila from Al Fashir, where the Sudanese Doctors Network warned of the risk of an "imminent humanitarian catastrophe." "The majority of the displaced are women, children, and the elderly. They arrived in critical health and humanitarian conditions after a harrowing journey that lasted for hours under extremely dangerous circumstances," reported the Sudanese Doctors Network, explaining that many of them have been "victims of looting, physical assault, and murder while trying to flee Al Fashir." Tawila is about 70 kilometers west of Al Fashir and is now facing an "increasingly severe humanitarian crisis due to the sudden surge in the number of displaced people," who lack food and medicine.

The Sudanese government accuses the FSR of "genocide"

Sudan's Prime Minister, Kamel Idris, appealed for unity among all Sudanese to stop the "ethnic cleansing" and "genocide" he attributed to the FSR and Al Fashir, who was until a few days ago the last stronghold of the Sudanese army in the Darfur region and which is now in the hands of paramilitaries. "We are all on high alert with our families in Al Fashir and throughout Sudan to stop the ethnic cleansing, genocide, murder, torture, and crimes against women, children, and the elderly," said Idris, who heads the junta-controlled government, in a televised address. "The atrocities in Al Fashir have crossed all boundaries," he warned.

In fact, the FSR paramilitaries themselves issued a statement reporting that they had arrested several people "accused of rapes committed during the liberation of the city of Al Fashir." The leader of the paramilitary group, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, better known as Hemedti, acknowledged "some rapes" in a recorded speech posted on his social media, in which he announced "the formation of an investigative committee" in Al Fashir.

The paramilitaries have identified one of those arrested as Abu Luluah and explained that specialized legal committees had been created to investigate and try him. Several NGOs, and even the UN, have denounced summary executions, murders, sexual violence, kidnappings, torture, and even ethnic cleansing during the FSR's capture of Al Fashir, a city that had been under siege by the paramilitaries since May 2024. ~BK_SLT_50 precisely because the power struggle between the two main generals of the Sudanese army, Al Burhan, and Hemedti, None of the FSR, a militia attached to the armed forces, were involved. Both sides allied to halt the country's democratization and collaborated closely in the 2021 coup, but later became enemies. Since the start of the civil war, it is estimated that more than 400,000 people have died, and both sides have been accused of committing war crimes. The violence has been so intense that the number of refugees and internally displaced persons has reached 12 million, and up to 30 million are in need of humanitarian aid in a country of approximately 50 million inhabitants.