By Rédaction Africa Links 24 with Reuters
Published on 2024-01-20 03:33:00
A United Nations report seen by Reuters on Friday revealed that ethnic violence by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied Arab militia in Sudan’s West Darfur region resulted in the deaths of 10,000 to 15,000 people in the city of El Geneina in 2023. The report contrasted this staggering death toll with the U.N. estimate of 12,000 people killed across Sudan since the war began on April 15, 2023, between the Sudanese army and the RSF.
The report also accused the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of providing military support to the RSF via northern Chad, while the UAE claimed that it had sent humanitarian aid to Amdjarass in Chad to assist Sudanese refugees. However, the United Nations reported that about 500,000 people have fled Sudan into Chad, and the RSF’s attacks on the ethnic African Masalit tribe in El Geneina may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity.
The RSF, supported by allied Arab militias, has been accused of planning and executing the attacks targeting the Masalit tribe. According to the report, the attacks involved harassment, robbery, physical and sexual assault, as well as indiscriminate shootings that resulted in hundreds of casualties, including women, children, and young men. Additionally, widespread conflict-related sexual violence was reported to have been committed by the RSF and the allied militia.
The report also highlighted the complex financial networks and new military supply lines that supported the RSF’s takeover of Darfur and the new firepower it acquired, enabling the RSF to make military gains, take control of major cities, and consolidate its grip on the western region of Darfur. The United States has formally determined that war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing have been committed by the warring parties in Sudan. The conflict has led to nearly half of Sudan’s population needing aid, with more than 7.5 million people displaced and hunger on the rise.
Despite various peace efforts, the report concluded that the war, political settlement, and humanitarian crisis in Sudan were yet to be addressed.
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