UN Probe Finds Sudan’s RSF Guilty of Genocide, Mass Killings, and Rape
By Olivia Le Poidevin
UN Investigation Reveals Atrocities Committed by Sudan’s RSF
Mass Killings and Genocidal Policies in al-Fashir
GENEVA, July 8 (Reuters) - Sudan's RSF forces carried out mass killings, abductions of women and girls, mass gang rapes and forced starvation in a city they besieged and captured last year, as part of an intentional policy amounting to genocide, a U.N. probe said on Wednesday.
The Rapid Support Forces, which are battling the Sudanese army in a civil war, committed the crimes in al-Fashir in north Darfur, which they captured last year after a long siege, the U.N. Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan found.
Testimonies from Survivors
Survivors described to the mission being raped in rooms where bodies of recently killed civilians, including their own family members, were still lying on the ground.
War Crimes and Starvation Tactics
The report found that the RSF and allies committed the war crime of starvation by imposing a prolonged siege on the city, impeding relief supplies, and shelling food production systems.
RSF Denials and Counter-Accusations
The RSF has denied such abuses in over three years of civil war, saying the accounts have been manufactured by its enemies and making counter-accusations against them.
Expanding Atrocities and International Response
Warnings of Catastrophe in al-Obeid
The U.N. human rights chief warned on Friday that a similar "catastrophe" was unfolding around another large city, al-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state, and that his office had documented patterns of summary executions, abductions, torture and sexual violence in the surrounding region.
International Condemnation and Inquiry
Members of the U.N. human rights council on Monday condemned the violence and set up an urgent inquiry into alleged abuses there.
Britain and other states have warned of a risk of large-scale atrocities as the RSF massed forces around al-Obeid, now home to around half a million people including more than 83,000 internally displaced people.
Previous Findings and New Evidence
Earlier Reports of Genocide
The fact-finding mission had already concluded in a previous report in February that mass killings of non‑Arab communities when the RSF captured al-Fashir bore hallmarks of genocide.
Additional Evidence of Systematic Abuse
Its new report said it found additional evidence that the widespread and systematic pattern of conduct of the RSF, including large-scale killings, mass-scale rape and deliberate starvation, was part of an intended policy.
Statements from UN Officials
"The patterns we documented in al-Fashir - including encirclement, attacks on civilian infrastructure, restrictions on humanitarian access, and widespread abuses against civilians – serve as a stark warning," said Mohamed Chande Othman, the mission's chair.
"The international community must heed these lessons and act to prevent further catastrophe," he added.
(Reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin)
