Atrocities Continue Unabated In Sudan

 

There has been no relief to civilians in Sudan since the outbreak of war in mid-April 2023, and it seems the world doesn’t really care.

According to United Nations reports, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia has recruited approximately 200,000 mercenaries in its brutal campaign against Sudan. Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs filed a formal complaint to the United Nations Security Council, accusing the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of backing the RSF with mercenaries to further its own expansionist interests.

It shall be recalled that Canadian Member of Parliament Garnett Genuis brought attention to the Sudanese crisis and the UAE’s backing of the RSF, as he raised concerns over Canada’s arms trade with the UAE, urging his country to ensure that its weapons are not used to harm Sudanese civilians.

In Parliament, Canada’s Foreign Minister emphasised that the RSF would likely falter without UAE support, linking UAE involvement in African conflicts to ongoing instability in the region.

Despite these condemnations, the international response to the RSF’s atrocities has been limited, even as credible reports from international agencies document widespread violations, including genocide, ethnic cleansing, sexual violence, forced displacement, and the destruction of hospitals, places of worship, and public infrastructure. There is growing demand for the RSF to be designated a terrorist entity, for its supporters to be pressured, and for concrete actions to end the violence.

Al Hakika, the first publication focused on documenting RSF crimes, has compiled extensive evidence, including accounts of mass killings, bombings, sexual enslavement, looting, and attacks on healthcare workers. Reports also highlight the looting of humanitarian aid and the obstruction of food supplies to displaced persons. Sudan’s Attorney-General, Fateh Tayfour, reported 966 cases of sexual violence and slavery by the RSF, noting that many incidents likely went unreported due to social stigma.

The National Human Rights Commission received thousands of complaints against the RSF, and several cases have resulted in legal action, including capital punishment. Some women have shared harrowing stories of sexual assault, abductions, and beatings by RSF fighters. One woman recounted how RSF soldiers broke into her home and assaulted her daughters. Other women have described widespread abuse, including forced marriages and sexual exploitation, particularly among displaced women and girls.

Women’s rights organisation SIHA has documented forced marriages and the abduction of pregnant women and girls by the RSF, further exacerbating the suffering of vulnerable populations. As the conflict continues, many women and girls are subjected to sexual violence as a means of survival under the dire humanitarian conditions.

The scale of violence perpetrated by the RSF highlights the urgent need for a robust international response, including accountability for those responsible, and comprehensive support for the victims of this ongoing crisis.

In October 2024, humanitarian organisations like Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), the World Food Programme (WFP), and UNICEF had to grapple with shocking situations where their trucks and employees sustained attacks and looting while carting critical medical supplies and food supplies to victims of the war, especially the elderly, women and children in refugee camps in various locations in Sudan, in complete violation of the Geneva Conference agreements on ensuring safe corridors for humanitarian aid delivery.

In addition to preventing food and other relief items from entering refugee camps by imposing blockades, the RSF has set up checkpoints on specific routes as part of a broader strategy to create food shortages, forcibly displacing local populations.

Artillery attacks by RSF forces have killed over 5,000 civilians, according to the latest estimates. These artillery attacks target indiscriminately residential areas, refugee camp, villages, marketplaces in Al-Thawrat, Umbada, Old Omdurman, North Darfur, and elsewhere.

Attacks have not spared hospitals, healthcare facilities and medical personnel either. On 17th October 2024, the Sudanese Ministry of Health issued a strong condemnation against such egregious violations of international laws and norms. The Sudanese Doctors’ Network and the Sudanese Doctors’ Union have equally raised their voice to condemn these acts.

The Secretary-General of the National Council for Child Welfare, reported that 150 children who were fighting in the ranks of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were detained during the battles in the capital in October 2024.

Across the conflict-affected states, a total of 1,200 children have been detained and are now under the care of the army’s child welfare unit. Officials explain that these children would undergo rehabilitation in collaboration with UNICEF, the Red Cross, and the Red Crescent before being returned to their families.

Despite national and international laws prohibiting child recruitment, it is evident that the RSF continues to recruit children, often offering financial incentives to lure them into camps in Khartoum, Kordofan, Sennar, and Darfur. Currently, 8,000 children are enlisted with RSF forces.

Another disturbing crime committed by RSF forces was against the church. Coptic Archbishop, Sevine Wasfi has revealed that the RSF militia has exhumed graves in churchyards, searching for gold.

The question is: Till when will the world remain visibly unconcerned while torture and death befall women, youth and persons with disabilities in RSF detention centres?

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