UN condemns ‘horrific’ crimes by Sudanese paramilitary force

September 26, 2024 (PORT SUDAN) – The United Nations condemned on Tuesday what it called “horrific” crimes committed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the Al-Jazira region of central Sudan and urged an immediate end to the violence amid growing calls for civilians to take up arms.

For five consecutive days, the RSF has been accused of carrying out reprisal attacks in East Al-Jazira after a local commander, Abu Aqila Kikil, defected. The violence has included killings, abductions, forced displacement and acts of humiliation, according to reports from residents and human rights groups.

“These are atrocious crimes,” Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the UN resident coordinator in Sudan, said in a statement, citing reports of rape, targeted attacks, sexual violence and mass killings.

From Oct. 20 to 25, RSF fighters attacked villages in East Al-Jazira, shooting civilians, committing acts of sexual violence against women and girls, looting homes and markets, and setting fire to agricultural lands, Ms Nkweta-Salami said.

According to local sources, the RSF has demanded that residents hand over relatives of the defected commander in the village of Al-Hilaliya, even though they have already left the village.

The Al-Jazira Conference, a civilian group that monitors human rights abuses, reported that at least 124 people had been killed by the RSF in recent days, with more than 200 injured.

In response to the escalating violence, Al-Jazira’s governor, Tahir Ibrahim, issued a statement calling for a general mobilization of anyone able to bear arms “in every city, village, and neighbourhood” to counter the RSF.

Sudan’s army leader, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, also pledged on Wednesday to arm residents of East Al-Jazirah.

But Emergency Lawyers, a Sudanese legal rights group, criticized the move, saying that arming civilians would increase their vulnerability and risk further escalation and division.

The Sudanese National Human Rights Commission condemned the RSF’s actions, calling the violence in East Al-Jazirah “gross human rights violations, including crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing and forced displacement.”

Political and human rights groups have called for an immediate halt to the violence and the protection of civilians.