El Fasher, November 27 (Darfur24)
The human rights body, Amnesty International, has reported that fighters from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) executed dozens of unarmed men and raped scores of women and girls during their takeover of El Fasher, North Darfur, according to survivor testimonies collected by the organization.
In its latest report, Amnesty International said it interviewed 28 survivors who described killings, beatings, rape, and other forms of sexual violence. Several survivors told the research team that they witnessed groups of men being beaten or shot, while others were taken hostage for ransom.
Women who spoke to Amnesty said they were subjected to sexual violence at the hands of RSF fighters, and that some of their daughters were also assaulted. Many interviewees recounted seeing hundreds of bodies strewn across the streets of El Fasher and along the roads leading out of the city.
The organization conducted three in-person interviews in Chad and the remaining interviews via telephone with survivors who reached safety in Tawila and Al-Tina on the Sudan–Chad border.
“The world must not turn a blind eye as more details emerge about the brutal attack by the Rapid Support Forces on El Fasher,” said Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International. “Survivors told us of the unbelievable horrors they experienced while fleeing the city.”
Amnesty International stressed that the widespread and ongoing violence against civilians amounts to war crimes and may also constitute other crimes under international law. The organization called for those responsible to be held fully accountable.
It urged the UN Human Rights Council to ensure that the independent international fact-finding mission on Sudan receives the resources needed to investigate violations across the country, including in El Fasher.
Amnesty also called on the UN Security Council—already responsible for referring the situation in Darfur to the International Criminal Court—to urgently expand the referral to cover the rest of Sudan. The organization reiterated its demand for all external actors to halt the sale or supply of arms and related equipment to all parties to the conflict, and for the existing arms embargo to be extended to the whole country.