UN alleges “gross human rights abuses” in Sudan

During eight days of attacks on villages south of Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, Sudanese militia have been charged with murder, sexual assault, looting, and arson. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) group has increased attacks on civilians in el-Gezira state since the region’s top commander reportedly defected to government forces on October 20, according to the UN, which also alleged “gross human rights abuses” connected to the group. An attack on the town of al-Suhra on Saturday left scores injured and 124 dead, according to the Sudan Doctors Network.

During eight days of attacks on villages south of Khartoum, the capital of Sudan, Sudanese militia have been charged with murder, sexual assault, looting, and arson. The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) group has increased attacks on civilians in el-Gezira state since the region’s top commander reportedly defected to government forces on October 20, according to the UN, which also alleged “gross human rights abuses” connected to the group. An attack on the town of al-Suhra on Saturday left scores injured and 124 dead, according to the Sudan Doctors Network.

According to the UN, at least 30 towns have been targeted and approximately 47,000 people have been forced to flee their homes during the past week, primarily to neighboring states. The Sudanese army has taken significant fighting losses against the RSF in the Khartoum area. The largest humanitarian disaster in the world has been brought on by the two parties’ conflict over control of Sudan since April 2023. Extreme hunger will spread if the warring parties did not permit help to enter the Zamzam displacement camp in Darfur, where famine was declared in August.

The UN’s humanitarian coordinator in Sudan, Clementine Nkweta-Salami, said the violence echoed the RSF’s actions in the western region of Darfur, where it has control and has been targeting ethnic groups.

“I am shocked and deeply appalled that human rights violations of the kind witnessed in Darfur last year – such as rape, targeted attacks, sexual violence and mass killings – are being repeated in el-Gezira state. These are atrocious crimes,” said Nkweta-Salami.

The first such defection in the 18-month struggle was the departure of RSF leader Abu Aqleh Keikal, who reportedly left after reaching an agreement with the Sudanese army. According to political analyst Kholood Khair, the Sudanese army has been attempting to “choke out” RSF soldiers in the nearby cities of Khartoum, Omdurman, and Bahri.

“The RSF attacks though are mostly on civilians particularly [Keikal’s tribal group] the Shukriya, so they’re not a counter-offensive on the SAF [Sudanese Armed Forces] but acts characterised by atrocity violence on civilians,” Khair said.

“I think considering the nature of the violence, the level of impunity enjoyed by the RSF and the near-total global silence on this, that the numbers of dead may end up being a gross underestimation.”