UN says attacks by RSF paramilitaries in Darfur killed 89 civilians in 10 days

CAIRO (AP) – The United Nations high commissioner for human rights on Friday said it was appalled by “brutal” attacks by Rapid Support Forces in Sudan’s western region of Darfur, which killed at least 89 civilians, including 16 who were summarily executed, in a span of 10 days this month.

The attacks occurred between Aug. 11-20 in the city of el-Fasher and the nearby Abu Shouk displacement camp, Jeremy Laurence, a spokesperson for commissioner Volker Türk, said in a Geneva briefing. He said the death toll is likely higher.

The dead include at least 57 who were killed in attacks on Aug. 11, he said. Another 32 were killed between Aug. 16-20, Laurence said. Among the dead were 16 civilians, mostly from the African Zaghawa tribe, who were summarily executed in the Abu Shouk camp, he said. Another one was killed in el-Fasher by RSF fighters when he said he belonged to the African Berti tribe, Laurence said.

“This pattern of attacks on civilians and wilful killings, which are serious violations of international humanitarian law, deepens our concerns about ethnically motivated violence,” he said.

El-Fasher, the provincial capital of North Darfur province, is the military’s last stronghold in the sprawling region of Darfur. The RSF has bombed the city for more than a year, and last month it imposed a total blockade around its hundreds of thousands of people.

The RSF also repeatedly attacked Abu Shouk and another displacement camp, Zamzam, which was once Sudan’s largest with over 500,000 people. The two camps are located outside el-Fasher and were largely emptied after a major RSF attack in April. They have been hit by famine.

The RSF, which has been at war with the Sudanese military, grew out of the notorious Janjaweed militias, mobilized two decades ago by ex-Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir against populations that identify as Central or East African in Darfur in the early 2000s.

The Janjaweed militias, who were accused of mass killings, rapes and other atrocities in the Darfur conflict, still aid the RSF in its ongoing war against the military.

The current war started in April 2023 when simmering tensions between the leaders of the military and the RSF exploded into open fighting in the capital, Khartoum, and other cities across the sprawling northeastern African country.

The conflict has killed more than 40,000 people, forced more than 14 millions to flee their homes and left some families eating grass in a desperate attempt to survive as famine swept parts of the country.

It has been marked by gross atrocities including ethnically motivated killing and rape, according to the United Nations and rights groups. The International Criminal Court said it was investigating alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity.