KHARTOUM: The United Nations (UN) has called for urgent measures to halt the “wanton killings” of individuals escaping El Geneina, the capital of Sudan’s West Darfur state. The UN has emphasized the need to put an end to these atrocities and ensure the safe passage of those seeking refuge.
The clashes in Sudan’s West Darfur state have been ongoing for over two months between the Sudanese army led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), commanded by his former deputy, Mohamed Hamdan Daglo. The conflict has particularly intensified in Darfur, a vast western region bordering Chad, where the United Nations has warned of the conflict taking on an “ethnic dimension.”
Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN’s human rights office, expressed deep concern over the ongoing killings and called for immediate action to address the situation. She stressed the need for the safety of those fleeing El Geneina and the urgent access of humanitarian agencies to collect the remains of the victims.
Mass Killing in Sudan
The UN rights office, based in Geneva, shared harrowing accounts from individuals who escaped to Chad, describing armed groups, supported by the Rapid Support Forces, targeting and killing people on foot as they fled El Geneina. Numerous witnesses also reported seeing lifeless bodies strewn along the roads and a strong stench of decomposition.
The UN rights office conducted interviews with 16 individuals, with all but two of them testifying to witnessing rapid executions and the deliberate targeting of civilians on the road between El Geneina and the border. The United States had previously reported that up to 1,100 people had been killed in El Geneina, primarily attributing the atrocities to the RSF paramilitary force.
The UN rights office further highlighted the dire situation in El Geneina, noting the destruction of essential infrastructure and the obstruction of aid movement into the city, rendering it uninhabitable. It called on the RSF leadership to unequivocally condemn and halt the killings of those fleeing El Geneina, emphasizing the importance of holding the perpetrators accountable.
The UN urged the immediate establishment of a humanitarian corridor between Chad and El Geneina to facilitate the safe passage of civilians from conflict-affected areas.
