Newsletters
The U.N. human rights chief on Friday issued a stark warning about rapidly escalating atrocities in and around el-Fasher, the capital of Sudan’s North Darfur, urging immediate international action to protect civilians trapped by months of fighting.
Volker Turk told a special session of the Human Rights Council that U.N. teams have documented “strangulation, starvation, mass killings, widespread sexual violence and forced displacement.”
Civilians, he said, have been reduced to eating leaves, animal feed and peanut shells as armed groups encircle the city.
He accused both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of blocking humanitarian aid, attacking medical facilities and targeting critical infrastructure.
The U.N. migration agency reported that more than 99,000 people have fled el-Fasher and nearby villages since Oct. 26, warning that insecurity and blocked roads are hampering movement and emergency relief.
U.N. Special Adviser Adama Dieng said Sudan is facing a “human rights and humanitarian catastrophe,” with communities subjected to executions, torture, abductions and sexual violence.
He warned that rising hate speech and ethnically motivated attacks could fuel further atrocities.
U.N. aid chief Tom Fletcher, visiting Sudan this week, described the violence as “brutal and inhumane,” urging authorities to allow life-saving assistance.
The RSF seized el-Fasher last month and is accused of carrying out massacres and forced expulsions.
The group now controls all five Darfur states, while the army holds most of the remaining 13 states as the war, which began in April 2023, continues to displace millions.
Set as preferred source
3 min read
