The number of casualties resulting from the direct targeting of civilians throughout the war in Sudan has reached 4,907, between killed and wounded, the Observatory of the Darfur Youth Organization (Mashad) for Human Rights recently revealed.

According to the Observatory, around 1,411 people have been killed since April 2023, including 97 children and 16 pregnant women, while 3,496 have been injured, 794 of whom had their limbs decapitated.

The indiscriminate artillery shelling carried out by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) was the main culprit behind significant losses in civilian areas following the destruction of large numbers of service facilities and homes in various states, Mashad said.

The organization consequently expressed that the continuous targeting of cities, areas, and towns to kill, forcibly displace civilians, loot, steal, and damage civilian infrastructure, by the RSF, was "unfortunate".

"The international community and human rights activists must oppose the RSF's violations against civilians, as well as clearly denounce the horrific crimes which breach international charters that prohibit violence against civilians in wartime," a statement released by the organization said. 

The observatory concluded its statement by calling on "human rights organizations and international judicial institutions to continue their efforts to prosecute the Rapid Support Forces judicially, to hold their leaders and supporters accountable, and impose deterrent penalties on them."

468 civilians killed in South Sudan

In a related context, the United Nations Mission in South Sudan announced the killing of "468 civilians in armed clashes between January and March," noting that "incidents of violence" are still ongoing.

AFP cited a statement issued by the UN announcing that "468 civilians were killed, 328 others were injured, 70 people were kidnapped, and 47 civilians were subjected to conflict-related sexual violence" between January and March 2024.

The statement explained that "these attacks were carried out by community militias and civil defense groups. The number of violent incidents increased by 24% compared to the same period last year," adding that "the remote Warrap State (northwest of South Sudan) is the most affected."

In contrast, the mission positively noted a decline in kidnappings and sexual violence, compared to the last quarter of 2023, by 30% and 25%, respectively.

In turn, the UN envoy to South Sudan, Nicholas Haysom, stressed the "urgent need for collective action by national, state, and local authorities, as well as community leaders and national politicians, to resolve long-standing grievances peacefully, especially as the first elections in South Sudan approach," he said.

The elections, the first in the country's history, are scheduled to begin on December 22, after being postponed several times. 

Sudan Foreign Ministry accuses RSF of starving, impoverishing people

On Wednesday, the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs warned against the country sliding into famine, citing the destruction of infrastructure by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the disruption of the agricultural season in the renowned Gezira Scheme.

In a statement, the Ministry said that, under the supervision of its regional sponsors, the RSF "continues its malicious plan to cause famine in the country, by deliberately and systematically disrupting agricultural activity in food production areas, intimidating farmers, and destroying the infrastructure of the agricultural sector, as well as the looting of agricultural machinery, seeds, and crops of the winter and summer seasons."

The statement pointed out that "the ultimate goal of the plan is to force people out of their production areas and replace them with militia members and foreign mercenaries."

"Due to this terrorist campaign, production was disrupted in parts of the Gezira Scheme for the first time in a hundred years, in addition to threatening the agricultural season in the states of Sennar and Blue Nile and the al-Rahad Scheme," the Sudanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs indicated.

Elsewhere, the ministry stressed the necessity of "confronting those behind this plan aimed at starving and impoverishing the people of Sudan."

Read moe: Sudan war ravaging millions of lives over a year into conflict