UN Alarmed by RSF Attack Against El Fasher in Sudan
Kanako Mita, Sawako Utsumi, and Noriko Watanabe
Modern Tokyo Times
The United Nations (UN) is requesting the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and allied Arab militias in El Fasher (Al-Fashir) to end the siege of this city – and the threat of a full-scale attack.
The region of Darfur is known for brutal Arab Muslim massacres against black African ethnic groups (Fur, Masalit, and Zaghawa) between 2003 and 2005. Darfur (similar to Sudan) is once more a land soaked in blood. Henceforth, since the latest conflict broke out in Sudan, ethnic massacres targeted black African ethnic groups again in the Darfur region.
In June, an earlier UN resolution demanded “an immediate halt to the fighting” and “withdrawal of all fighters that threaten the safety and security of civilians.”
UN News reports, “Sudan has been embroiled in a conflict between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces since April 2023. The war has displaced millions and left parts of the country plagued by famine and critical shortages of lifesaving aid.”
In April, Linda Thomas-Greenfield (United States Ambassador to the United Nations) said, “There are already credible reports that the RSF and its allied militias have razed multiple villages west of El Fasher.“
However, the war continues in Sudan – and the situation remains bleak in El Fasher.
Stephane Dujarric (United Nations Spokesperson) said, “It is unconscionable that the warring parties have repeatedly ignored calls for a cessation of hostilities. Any further escalation will also threaten to spread the conflict along intercommunal lines throughout Darfur.”
He continued, “The Secretary-General underscores that a ceasefire is not only necessary, but is an urgent imperative, both in El Fasher and across all other conflict zones in Sudan.”
Martha Pobee (Assistant Secretary-General for Africa at the UN Department of Political and Peacebuilding Affairs) highlighted that the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF – including their respective allies – have committed atrocities.
She said, “Violations include summary executions, abductions and enforced disappearances, arbitrary and incommunicado detention of civilians by both parties, subjecting many to torture and other human rights violations.”
UN news reports, “El Fasher, the provincial capital of North Darfur and a city of nearly one million people, has been a focal point of Sudan’s conflict. Despite repeated calls from the Security Council for a halt to the fighting, intense shelling and airstrikes have continued, devastating hospitals and civilian infrastructure.”
AFP reports, “The fighting in Darfur, with brutal attacks from the Arab-dominated Rapid Support Forces on ethnic African civilians, is reviving fears of another genocide, back in the early 2000s, when as many as 300,000 people were killed and 2.7 million were driven from their homes, many by government-backed Arab militias.”
It remains to be seen if the armed combatants will seek a way out of the crisis.
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