“They burned everything,” said one witness of a shelling attack in the Zamzam displacement camp in war-torn Darfur. “They claimed they only wanted to fight soldiers, but they punished the whole community.”
The war crimes and human rights violations perpetrated by all parties to the conflict between the military government and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia are documented in the latest report to the UN Human Rights Council, published by the UN’s investigative body probing violations in Sudan, known as the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission (FFM).
The report, ‘A War of Atrocities” found that both the Sudanese army (SAF) and the RSF have directed large-scale attacks against civilians and vital infrastructure including medical centres, constituting serious violations of international law.
Systematic human rights abuses
“Our findings leave no room for doubt: civilians are paying the highest price in this war,” said Mohamed Chande Othman, chair of the FFM.
According to the report, civilians are being targeted by both sides for their real or perceived affiliation with the opposing side. Executions, torture, and rape have become a daily horror for many communities in the war-torn country.
The RSF intentionally directed attacks against non-Arab communities in the besieged Darfuri city of El Fasher and the surrounding region, increasing the toll on what the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, calls the world’s fastest-growing displacement crisis.
Around 12.1 million people have fallen victim to forced displacement as of July. More civilians were killed or fled after the SAF targeted the state of Gezira.
Violence against women
Many civilians interviewed for the report said that they had suffered sexual assault. One witness said that she, along with other women and underaged girls, was subjected to rape in an abandoned building.
“Victims – especially women and children, who bear the greatest burden – deserve justice and reparations,” said Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, one of the independent investigators.
For women and girls in Sudan, receiving psychological or medical support is nearly impossible both because of the fear of retaliation from reporting violence and because of regular RSF and SAF attacks on hospitals.
Risk for humanitarian workers
Over 84 Sudanese humanitarian workers were killed, and more were arbitrarily detained between the start of war in April 2023 and April this year after intentional attacks and kidnappings.
The FFM is also conducting an ongoing investigation on a drone attack against a joint World Food Programme and UNICEF convoy in June. Five humanitarian workers died in the attack while several others were injured.
Meanwhile, humanitarian aid continues to be delayed or obstructed.
A ‘roadmap for justice’
“Our report not only exposes atrocities, it also lays out a roadmap for justice,” said FFM expert Mona Rishmawi.
The warring parties, mediators, and civil society can all play a role in ending the conflict, as outlined in the report.
Civil society initiatives, such as the Sudanese youth-led initiative “emergency rooms”, are some of the ways in which local communities can begin to repair the fabric of basic human rights law across Sudan.
The report also calls on the international community to enforce an arms embargo, back the International Criminal Court (ICC), and stop cooperating with any combatants or civilians suspected of war crimes, among other recommendations.
“The international community has the tools to act. Failure to do so would not only betray the Sudanese people – it would betray the very foundations of international law,” said Mr. Othman.
