Since the start of the conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Sudan Rapid Support Forces on April 15, the security, human rights and humanitarian situation has continued to deteriorate rapidly throughout the country, particularly in the greater Khartoum areas. , Darfur and Kordofan, said Tuesday the special representative of the General secretary for the African nation.
Volker Perthes indicated that the United Nations cannot yet verify all alleged violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, but that information received from multiple civil society entities and networks of human rights defenders provides a clear picture of the devastating magnitude of the impact on the civilian population.
In addition to thousands of civilian deaths and injuries, communities continue to face severe food shortages, access to medical supplies and restricted movement outside of conflict zones.
Hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced, including populations that had already been displaced after decades of conflict. Reports of sexual violence against women and girls are deeply alarming.
As the situation in Darfur continues to deteriorate, Perthes was particularly alarmed by the situation in El Geneina, Western Darfur, after several waves of violence since late April that took on ethnic dimensions.
While the United Nations continues to seek further details on these reports, a pattern of large-scale targeted attacks against civilians based on their ethnic identity is emerging, allegedly carried out by Arab militias and some armed men in Rapid Support Force uniforms.
“These reports are very worrying andif verified, could constitute crimes against humanity.” alerted.
Likewise, he stressed that the United Nations condemns in the strongest terms all attacks against civilians and civilian infrastructure, whatever their form and whoever their alleged perpetrators may be.
“It is imperative that security forces and non-state armed actors fulfill their duty, under international humanitarian law, to respect the right to life and refrain from attacking civilians,” it warned.
Despite the fact that, in some areas, local communities and state authorities took proactive steps to help defuse tensions and mediate, Perthes said that “it is important to ensure that all violations are documented and protected for accountability purposes. ”.
The special representative of the Secretary-General stressed that the United Nations Integrated Transition Assistance Mission in Sudan will continue its efforts to monitor the situation and use its resources to work with all parties to reach a peaceful resolution of the conflict, in coordination with regional and international partners.
Fighting must be stopped immediately
For her part, the United Nations Special Adviser for the Prevention of Genocide, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, strongly condemns the continuing fighting in Sudan between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the flagrant disregard for the ceasefire that It has so far caused the death of hundreds of people and injured thousands of people in Khartoum alone.
Wairimu Nderitu stated that she was deeply alarmed by the total disregard of the parties to the conflict towards international humanitarian law and human rights.
“It is extremely important that all parties to the conflict, including armed groups, lay down their arms and immediately stop attacks against civilians,” the Special Adviser said.
It also expressed concern about the renewed fighting in Khartoum, in particular the targeted missile attacks against the Al Azhari and Al Salama neighborhoods on June 11, which killed 18 civilians and wounded many others, the third largest massacre of civilians in a single day in the same area.
