The UN human rights office has received alarming reports since the paramilitary group’s major incursion into the city last week, highlighting summary executions, mass killings, rapes, attacks on humanitarian workers, looting, abductions, and forced displacement, stated Seif Magango, spokesperson for the UN rights office (OHCHR).
Speaking from Nairobi to journalists in Geneva, Mr. Magango relayed testimonies from residents who fled in terror as the city fell, enduring a perilous journey to Tawila, roughly 70 kilometers away, which takes three to four days on foot.
Crowded camps in Tawila
More than 36,000 people have fled since Saturday, mostly on foot, to Tawila—a town west of El Fasher that is already hosting over 652,000 displaced individuals, reported the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The RSF militia, originating from the Darfur conflict’s genocidal violence 20 years ago, has been engaged in intense conflict with the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) since April 2023.
Sudan faces the world’s largest humanitarian and displacement crisis on record, with 14 million displaced out of a 51 million population. Famine is widespread, and outbreaks of cholera and other deadly diseases are rising.
The RSF seized El Fasher, North Darfur’s capital, after over 500 days of siege, forcing Sudan’s army to withdraw.
Distressing reports suggest the killing of sick and wounded individuals inside the Saudi Maternity Hospital and in temporary medical centers in the Dara Jawila and Al-Matar neighborhoods.
The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 460 patients and their companions were killed during the alleged massacre.
“These grave allegations raise urgent questions about the circumstances of these killings in what should be safe places,” Mr. Magango said.
He called for an independent, transparent, and prompt investigation to ensure justice.
OHCHR has also received alarming reports of sexual violence from humanitarian partners. “At least 25 women were gang raped when RSF’s forces entered a shelter for displaced people near El Fasher University. Witnesses confirm RSF’s personnel selected women and girls and raped them at gunpoint,” Mr. Magango stated.
The violence also targeted humanitarian workers and local volunteers helping vulnerable communities in El Fasher.
Attacks on medics
The World Health Organization (WHO) corroborated reports of attacks on health facilities and personnel, condemning the abduction of six health workers—four doctors, a nurse, and a pharmacist. The Saudi Maternity hospital has been attacked five times in October alone.
Following El Fasher’s fall, the UN health agency is currently “unable to assist those impacted, injuries incurred from the multiple civilian attacks,” explained Dr. Teresa Zakaria, head of WHO’s Humanitarian Operations Unit.
WHO confirmed 189 attacks verified in Sudan this year, resulting in 1,670 deaths and 419 injuries. “Eighty-six per cent of these attack-related deaths have occurred this year alone, indicating that attacks are getting deadlier,” Dr. Zakaria said.
Massive funding shortfall
“The Sudan Humanitarian Response Plan is only 27.4 percent funded—leading to a significant gap,” Dr. Zakaria added. “Health sector funding stands at 37 percent, so we struggle significantly with resources. We urge the international community not to abandon Sudan, since our main actors are Sudanese organizations, who continue to provide assistance.”
With El Fasher’s capture, RSF’s territorial control now spans Darfur and parts of Sudan’s south, while the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) control Khartoum and much of the north and center.
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