El Fasher, August 23(Darfur 24)
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights reported that it had documented the killing of 89 civilians in El Fasher and Abu Shouk camp over the course of 10 days.
The commission said in a statement that “the most recent attacks documented by the Human Rights Office occurred between August 16 and 20, killing at least 32 civilians, while at least 57 civilians were killed in previous attacks on August 20.”
It expressed fear that the actual number of civilian casualties is much higher, stressing that these attacks are unacceptable and demanding their immediate cessation.
It added, “We are particularly shocked by the fact that 16 of the most recent killings of civilians appear to be summary executions.”
The commission continued: “Most of them were killed in Abu Shouk camp, and they belonged to the Zaghawa tribe of African origin, according to information collected by our office. In another incident in El Fasher, one of the victims was asked about his tribe, and when he replied that he was from the Berti tribe of African origin, he was killed immediately.”
The commission stated that this pattern of targeting civilians and deliberate killing constitutes a serious violation of international humanitarian law and confirms concerns about escalating ethnically motivated violence.
The commission revealed that it had received reports from field sources indicating that during the attacks on August 16, 40 displaced men were abducted, and their fate remains unknown.
The statement indicated that the humanitarian situation in El Fasher has reached a critical stage after more than a year of siege, with the risk of famine growing in the city and other areas of North Darfur.
Most food supplies have been absent from El Fasher due to the siege imposed by the Rapid Support Forces since April 2024, which was recently tightened by digging deep trenches around the city. Most of the city’s residents rely on “ambaz”—the remains of peanuts after their oil has been extracted—as their primary source of food.