The UN Human Rights Office in Sudan issued warnings on Saturday 8 November over the mass-scale atrocities that have occurred over the last ten days in El-Fasher, leaving around 71,000 displaced.
The UN Human Rights Office in Sudan has published a video on X expressing severe concern over El-Fasher following the escalation of violent attacks in the last ten days.
“Over the past ten days, El-Fasher has witnessed an escalation of brutal attacks. It has become a city of grief,” said Li Fung, UN Human Rights Representative in Sudan.
UN officials say that tensions have reached an all-time high in the Sudan conflict.
“Civilians who survived 18 months of siege and hostilities are now enduring atrocities of an unimaginable scale,” Fung continued.
“Hundreds have been killed, including women, children and the wounded, who sought safety in hospitals and schools. Entire families were cut down as they fled. Others have simply vanished.”
The UN representative also said that thousands had been detained, including medical personnel and journalists.
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Sexual violence in El-Fasher
On top of the brutal mass-scale murder, sexual violence has erupted in recent days, with more than 150 Sudanese women being subjected to rape and sexual harassment while fleeing the city of El-Fasher in North Darfur.
Around two days ago, the RSF chased fleeing civilians along popular escape routes, injuring more than 1,300 people by gunfire.
Adam Regal, spokesman for the General Coordination for Displaced Persons and Refugees in Darfur, said that the RSF also detained thousands of stranded people in the area of Qarni, including children who were separated from their families.
Out of the thousands who fled El-Fasher following the RSF capture of the city on 26 October, 15,000 managed to reach the town of Tawila, 60 kilometres west of El-Fasher, most of whom are in poor health due to the injuries they sustained while trying to escape.
Over 1,200 children are suffering from malnutrition and 700 elderly individuals are in critical health conditions, according to Regal.
Tawila is now hosting more than 1 million internally displaced persons, with Regal warning that the situation requires urgent humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs.
“The grim reality of sexual violence is ever-present. This illustrates that there are no safe routes to leave El-Fasher and there are serious protection risks to those who remain trapped in the city,” said UN representative Fung.
On Saturday 8 November, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) claimed they had completed the investigation on a commander who is accused of killing hundreds, if not thousands, of civilians in El-Fasher.
Abu Lulu, whose true name is Al-Fateh Abdullah Idris, appeared on social media gunning down civilians at point-blank range. He then boasted about his crimes on TikTok Live.
“I wanted to kill 2,000, but I’m sure the number exceeded 2,000,” Abu Lulu said. However, human rights organisations have warned that the arrest could have been a publicity stunt to curve condemnations.
“What we are witnessing is not chaos. It is a systematic assault on human life and dignity. Brutal attacks, often on the basis of ethnicity,” Fung added.
The UN Human Rights Office in Sudan is continuing to document the violations and abuses.
“El-Fasher is bleeding and the time to act is now. The violence must be stopped. The world needs to act now,” Funfg concluded.
On 26 October, the RSF seized control of El-Fasher after 18 months of siege and committed mass-scale massacres against civilians. Since 15 April, 2023, the Sudanese army and the RSF have been locked in a regional war with no successful international mediatory efforts to end it.
