Sudanese refugees from Zamzam camp exterior of El Fasher, in Darfur, obtain meals.
Lynsey Addario/Getty Photos Europe
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Lynsey Addario/Getty Photos Europe
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa — A paramilitary group accused of genocide says it has seized the final Sudanese military stronghold within the Darfur area. The transfer raises fears of ethnic cleaning and issues the war-torn nation might in the end cut up in two.
The Speedy Help Forces (RSF) mentioned Sunday they’d overrun the military’s base within the metropolis of El Fasher, which has been below siege for greater than yr. The federal government – which has been combating a civil battle towards the militia since 2023 — has but to verify this.
The U.S., UN specialists, and the Sudanese military all argue that the RSF – which grew out of the infamous Janjaweed militia that fought in Darfur within the early 2000s – and allied ethnic-Arab militias have been committing genocide. They are saying the targets are African ethnic teams in Darfur.
‘Proof of potential mass atrocities.’
Movies circulating on-line that might not be independently verified by NPR, appeared to indicate heavily-armed RSF fighters celebrating taking the town; in autos chasing individuals fleeing; and shouting racials slurs at detainees.
The United Nations’ migration company mentioned 2,500 to three,000 individuals had fled El Fasher since Sunday. The Humanitarian Analysis Lab at Yale College confirmed satellite tv for pc imagery displaying vital injury on the metropolis’s airport and armed forces headquarters.
The Yale lab mentioned it noticed indicators the RSF had taken prisoners and it was monitoring for “evidence of potential mass atrocities.”
The United Nations humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher mentioned in an announcement that “with fighters pushing further into the city and escape routes cut off, hundreds of thousands of civilians are trapped and terrified – shelled, starving, and without access to food, healthcare, or safety.”
President Trump’s Africa envoy Massad Boulos posted an announcement saying “humanitarian corridors must be opened immediately… the world is watching El Fasher and the RSF’s actions with deep concern.”
However Shayna Lewis, Sudan Specialist at US-based non-profit Avaaz, mentioned “the international community has thus far failed in its responsibility to protect civilians, standing by whilst the RSF perpetrates a succession of ethnically-motivated massacres of civilians across Sudan.”
“Thousands of civilians are at risk of atrocity crimes in and around El Fasher,” she added.
Whereas rights teams have accused either side within the battle of battle crimes, together with extrajudicial killings and the blocking of humanitarian support, they’ve blamed the overwhelming majority of atrocities on the RSF led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, generally known as Hemeti.
The Sudan Physician’s Community mentioned in an announcement that dozens of individuals had been killed in a “horrific massacre…in a crime of ethnic cleansing” because the RSF took management of the El Fasher army base, a declare NPR couldn’t independently confirm.
However the militia group has dedicated atrocities within the area this yr already. In April the RSF attacked the huge ZamZam displacement camp in North Darfur, which was dwelling to about half one million individuals, killing a whole lot.
Medical doctors With out Borders mentioned Monday they have been treating individuals who had fled El Fasher at one in all their close by well being posts.
“During the night of 26 to 27 October, around 1,000 people from El Fasher arrived by truck… So far today, about 300 people were treated at the health post and 130 sent to the emergency room of the hospital, including 15 requiring lifesaving surgery.”
Nearly all of the youngsters below 5 who they noticed from the town have been malnourished, the help group mentioned.
Worldwide involvement complicates battle
Two and a half years of battle in Sudan have seen tens of hundreds killed and 14 million displaced in what the UN says is the world’s worst humanitarian disaster.
The battle over which facet will get to run the resource-rich nation that sits on the very important crossroads between North Africa, the Sahel, the Horn of Africa and the Purple Sea has not been occurring in a vacuum.
There are a number of worldwide gamers concerned.
On Monday, UN head Antonio Gueterres lamented “external interference” which he mentioned was undermining the potential of a ceasefire.
Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Iran are all supporting the Sudanese military, whereas the United Arab Emirates is accused of backing the RSF — one thing the UAE denies.
The military, led by de-facto Sudanese chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, claimed a serious victory earlier this yr when it retook the capital Khartoum, marking a key turning level within the battle.
However the RSF regrouped in Darfur. It has besieged some 250,000 residents of El Fasher for 18 months, focusing on civilians with drones and strikes, and the blockade has led to hunger and famine.
With El Fasher now apparently within the palms of the RSF, the entire of Darfur is below the paramilitary’s management. Specialists fear the area might cut up the nation in two, as occurred over the past battle in Darfur and the creation of South Sudan.
The RSF introduced the institution of a rival authorities earlier this yr, although it has not been recognised.
