UN links El-Fasher siege to genocide in Sudan
A United Nations fact-finding mission has concluded that atrocities committed during the siege and capture of El-Fasher in western Sudan point to acts of genocide. The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized the city, located in the Darfur region, at the end of October after an 18-month blockade. The takeover marked one of the deadliest episodes in Sudan’s nearly three-year civil war and provoked strong international condemnation. According to investigators mandated by the UN Human Rights Council, evidence gathered during the inquiry — including prolonged siege tactics, starvation, denial of humanitarian aid, mass killings, sexual violence, torture and enforced disappearances — indicates intent to destroy, in whole or in part, the Zaghawa and Fur communities in El-Fasher. Mona Rishmawi, a member of the mission, said the pattern of violations leaves “only one reasonable inference” regarding genocidal intent. The report identifies […]