Atrocities in Sudan's El Fasher may amount to war crimes: ICC
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The ICC says RSF atrocities in El Fasher may be war crimes, as Sudan faces famine and the US pushes for a truce amid ongoing violence in Darfur.
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This video grab shows smoke rising over Khartoum, Sudan, on Thursday, September 26, 2024, after Sudan's military started an operation to take areas of the capital from its rival, the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. (AP)
Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court (ICC) said they are collecting evidence of atrocities committed by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) during their recent takeover of El Fasher in Sudan’s Darfur region. The paramilitary group’s actions, according to the ICC, “may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
The RSF captured El Fasher last week following an 18-month siege. Witnesses described fighters moving house to house, killing civilians, carrying out sexual assaults, and murdering children in front of their parents.
The ICC statement noted that these atrocities in El Fasher appear to be “part of a broader pattern of violence that has afflicted the entire Darfur region.” The court’s investigators are working to preserve evidence for possible future prosecutions.
Read more: US eyes sanctioning all of ICC over 'Israel' war crimes probe: Reuters
Sudan famine declared in El Fasher, Kadugli
A UN-backed global hunger monitor confirmed that famine conditions have emerged in El Fasher and Kadugli, another besieged city in southern Sudan. This is the first official recognition of famine in these urban areas, though in December, the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) confirmed famine among displaced people in camps around El Fasher.
The IPC is the internationally recognized standard for classifying the severity of hunger crises.
The World Health Organization reported that at least 460 people were killed by gunmen at a hospital in El Fasher. Doctors and nurses were also abducted during the assault, further straining humanitarian efforts in the area. Poor communications have slowed the flow of information, and the full death toll remains unknown.
Earlier this month, the ICC secured its first-ever conviction linked to atrocities committed in Darfur during the 2003–2004 conflict. Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman, also known as Ali Kushayb, was found guilty of ordering mass executions and personally killing two prisoners with an ax.
The ICC has been investigating the situation in Darfur for over two decades. In January, the court’s chief prosecutor told the UN Security Council there were grounds to believe that both the RSF and the Sudanese army may be responsible for war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide in Darfur.
Read more: Sudan calls on UN to blacklist Rapid Support Forces
US works toward truce in Sudan
Massad Boulos, the US advisor for African affairs, told the Associated Press on Monday that Washington is working with both the Sudanese army and the RSF to secure a humanitarian truce.
“We were working on this for the last almost 10 days with both sides, hoping to finalize the details,” Boulos said. The US-led initiative includes a proposed three-month ceasefire followed by a nine-month political transition process.
“The atrocities that we’ve seen, of course, are totally unacceptable,” Boulos said, referring to videos circulating online that reportedly show RSF fighters and allied gunmen beating, killing, and sexually assaulting civilians. FRANCE 24 noted that it has not been able to independently verify the footage.
The US has been coordinating with Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and the United Arab Emirates, known as the Quad, in efforts to end the war and stabilize Sudan.
Read more: Sudan will be united whether by peace or by war: RSF chief
Humanitarian workers beaten by militant forces
In a related context, a Sudan Red Crescent official said to Reuters on Monday that three of its volunteers were seen in a recording being beaten by a man in military fatigues.
The Secretary General of the Sudanese Red Crescent Society, Aida Elsayed, verified to Reuters that those shown were among five who were later killed.
Elsayed said that they were among a larger group of volunteers taken hostage, adding to Reuters that some managed to escape, with two managing to flee from a moving vehicle, but their whereabouts are still unknown.
"We are here in Sudan to help the Sudanese people with this tragic conflict. So we wish that everyone would respect the Sudanese Red Crescent," she said in an interview for Reuters from Port Sudan, adding that the group lost 21 aid workers in the duration of the conflict.
Elsayed did not blame and declined to comment on questions by Reuters regarding whether the latest victims were executed by the warring factions.
She voiced he concerns over the thousands of civilians displaced by the civil war, stating to Reuters, "If they flee the way of the desert, they will die from hunger and thirst."
