Press release
Geneva – April 30, 2024
Volker Türk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, has expressed deep concern over the intensifying violence in and around El-Fasher city, North Darfur, where recent clashes between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have resulted in a significant loss of life.
In the past two weeks alone, at least 43 individuals, including women and children, have lost their lives due to indiscriminate attacks using explosive weapons like mortar shells and rockets, targeting residential areas. The conflict has escalated since April 14, marked by the RSF’s advance into El-Fasher backed by allied militias.
The situation is dire for civilians trapped in the city, which remains under SAF control. Fearful of violence, civilians are unable to flee, exacerbated by critical shortages of essential supplies due to disrupted delivery routes caused by ongoing fighting in RSF-controlled territories.
Reports also reveal large-scale attacks by the RSF on villages in western El-Fasher, primarily inhabited by the African Zaghawa ethnic community. Villages like Durma, Umoshosh, Sarafaya, and Ozbani have been targeted, raising concerns of further ethnically motivated violence and potential mass atrocities. Similar conflicts in West Darfur last year resulted in hundreds of civilian deaths and injuries, with thousands displaced from their homes.
Commissioner Türk urgently calls for a de-escalation of this catastrophic situation and an immediate end to the prolonged conflict that has plagued Sudan for over a year. He advocates for a thorough investigation into alleged violations of international human rights and humanitarian law to ensure accountability and uphold victims’ rights to truth, justice, and reparations.
Furthermore, Türk urges all parties involved in the conflict and their allies to prioritize civilian safety, grant safe passage to areas outside the conflict zone, protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, and facilitate unimpeded humanitarian access to deliver lifesaving aid.
