UN Raises Alarm Over Ethnically Driven Atrocities in Sudan's al-Fashir

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The UN rights chief warned Monday that the Sudanese city of al-Fashir was in an “extremely precarious situation”, with the likelihood of “ethnically-motivated violations and atrocities” rising after paramilitary forces claimed control.

Since May 2024, al-Fashir has been besieged by the Rapid Support Forces, which have been fighting a brutal war with Sudan’s army for over two years.

The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) announced on Sunday that they have taken complete control of al-Fashir, marking a significant development in the ongoing civil conflict in Sudan. Al-Fashir was the last major city in the expansive Darfur region that had not fallen under RSF control, signaling a potentially pivotal moment in the relentless war.

“The risk of further large-scale, ethnically-motivated violations and atrocities in al-Fashir is mounting by the day,” United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk warned in a statement.

He called for “urgent and concrete action… to ensure the protection of civilians in al-Fashir and safe passage for those trying to reach relative safety”.

Volker Turk, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, expressed grave concern, revealing that his office has received alarming reports of civilians being summarily executed while attempting to escape the violence. There are troubling indications that these killings may be driven by ethnic motivations.

His statement described multiple distressing videos showing “dozens of unarmed men being shot or lying dead”, surrounded by RSF fighters accusing them of fighting for Sudan’s army.

It also cited reports that hundreds of people had been detained while trying to flee, including a journalist.

The rights office also highlighted a particularly distressing risk for women and girls in North Darfur, where the threat of sexual violence remains exceedingly high, given the region’s tumultuous history.

It also highlighted reports of numerous civilian deaths, including of local humanitarian volunteers, due to heavy artillery shelling between 22 and 26 October.

As well as information of severe food shortages and exorbitant prices, the office said it had received reports that RSF fighters had summarily executed five men attempting to bring supplies into the city.

Summary executions of civilians by RSF fighters were also being reported in Bara city in North Kordofan state in western Sudan, it said, with dozens of civilians allegedly killed.

“The RSF must urgently take concrete steps to end and prevent abuses against civilians in both al-Fashir and Bara, including ethnically-motivated violence and reprisal attacks,” Turk insisted.

“I remind the RSF commanders of their obligations under international humanitarian law to ensure the protection of civilians and to ensure the passage of essential supplies and humanitarian assistance,” he said.

International law prohibits violence against those not taking part in hostilities, and bans the use of starvation as a weapon of war, he said.