HRW urges immediate action to stop ethnic cleansing in West Darfur
May 9, 2024 (NAIROBI) – Human Rights Watch on Thursday urgently called for international intervention to halt the atrocities in Sudan’s West Darfur state, where the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied militias have engaged in a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing against the Massalit and other non-Arab populations in El Geneina.
Tirana Hassan, executive director of Human Rights Watch, stressed the gravity of the situation: “As the UN Security Council and governments wake up to the looming disaster in El Fasher, the large-scale atrocities committed in El Geneina should be seen as a reminder of the atrocities that could come in the absence of concerted action. Governments, the African Union, and the United Nations need to act now to protect civilians.”
The call comes as Human Rights Watch releases a comprehensive 218-page report, “‘The Massalit Will Not Come Home’: Ethnic Cleansing and Crimes Against Humanity in El Geneina, West Darfur, Sudan,” which details the RSF’s systematic attacks on predominantly Massalit neighbourhoods from April to November 2023. These attacks have resulted in thousands of deaths and forced hundreds of thousands to flee their homes, with over half a million refugees escaping to Chad.
The violence in El Geneina began on April 24, 2023, following a clash between the RSF and a Sudanese military convoy. The RSF, along with their allied Arab militias, launched a relentless assault on Massalit neighbourhoods. Despite the loss of control by Massalit armed groups, the RSF continued to target unarmed civilians. The brutality peaked on June 15, when RSF forces massacred a convoy of civilians attempting to flee, killing men, women, and children indiscriminately. Many drowned while trying to escape across the KajjaRiver.
Eyewitnesses provided chilling accounts of the violence. A 17-year-old boy recounted the horrific killing of 12 children and 5 adults: “Two RSF forces grabbed the children from their parents and, as the parents started screaming, two other RSF forces shot the parents, killing them. Then they piled up the children and shot them. They threw their bodies into the river and their belongings in after them.”
The RSF and allied militias resumed their attacks in November, targeting Massalit people who had sought refuge in the El Geneina suburb of Ardamata. Reports from the UN indicate that at least 1,000 people were killed during these attacks. Women and girls were subjected to rape and other forms of sexual violence, and detainees were tortured. The militias systematically destroyed civilian infrastructure, including schools, and looted on a grand scale.
International accountability
Human Rights Watch has identified key figures responsible for the violence, including RSF commander Mohamed “Hemetti” Hamdan Daglo and his brother Abdel Rahim Hamdan Dagalo.
The organization calls for immediate international action to prevent further atrocities, including targeted sanctions and enhanced support for the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigations.
The report underscores the urgent need for global intervention to stop the ongoing ethnic cleansing and ensure accountability for the crimes committed. The international community must act decisively to protect civilians in West Darfur and support the ICC in its mandate to bring perpetrators to justice.