Amnesty assures that the intensification of the conflict in Sudan worsens the situation of the inhabitants of Darfur

24 Apr. (EUROPE PRESS) –

The NGO Amnesty International (AI) has assured that the intensification of the conflict between the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) worsens the suffering of the civilian population in the Darfur region due to the “inaction” of the authorities to the time to provide justice and security.

The Darfur region is the victim of a conflict that began on April 25, 2003, when the Sudan Liberation Movement attacked the Sudanese Army at El Fasher airport in North Darfur, causing hundreds of thousands of violent deaths and millions of trips.

“The Darfur conflict caused human suffering on a terrifying scale, and the persistent lack of justice and accountability simply ensures that suffering continues,” said Tigere Chagutah, Amnesty International’s Regional Director for Eastern and Southern Africa.

AI has denounced that the prevailing impunity in Darfur has allowed alleged war criminals to occupy leadership positions, and has asked the actors involved to guarantee and respect Humanitarian Law.

The deaths of several civilians caused by the use of heavy weapons in “densely populated” areas in recent days is a sign that the authorities continue to fail to protect the population and without investigating or prosecuting those responsible, according to the organization, and has assured that Sudan is “caught up in endless cycles of indiscriminate armed attacks, as well as other serious crimes and human rights abuses.”

“It is unfortunate that in Sudan people continue to live in fear day after day. All people who have suffered abuses or violations of Human Rights must receive remedies and reparations. Time must not be an obstacle for justice to be delivered,” Chagutah said. .

It has also called on the Sudanese government to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) investigations, including handing over former President Omar Hasan al-Bashir and other war crimes suspects.

The NGO has called on both the international community and the UN Security Council to guarantee an arms embargo on Darfur and to “redouble efforts” to bring war criminals to justice.

VIOLENCE AGAINST CIVILIANS IN DARFUR

Government forces responded to the rebel attacks with attacks both against them and against civilians belonging to certain ethnic groups accused of supporting the insurgency, a strategy that they continue to apply today and that has caused “an enormous number of deaths, destruction and displacement of population”. AI documented in 2016 the use of chemical weapons against the civilian population by the Army.

Hundreds of thousands of civilians have died or faced starvation, dehydration, disease, the destruction of hundreds of towns and livelihoods. Women and girls have suffered widespread rape or other forms of sexual violence.

When Al Bashir was overthrown in 2019, a transitional government divided between the military and civilian leaders has not prevented the cessation of violence in the area, as it has shown no willingness or ability to protect civilians.

In December 2022, they signed an agreement to appoint a new transitional civil authority for a period of two years and in which accountability for crimes under International Law was established and they could not avail themselves of immunities or amnesties.

Currently, both the Army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) continue their attacks on the population.

“The civilian population of Darfur continues to be at the mercy of the same security forces that have committed crimes against humanity and war crimes there and in other parts of Sudan,” Chagutah said.