Sudan’s civil war has reached a new tipping point after the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) took control of el-Fasher, the army’s last stronghold in the western Darfur region, with the International Criminal Court suspecting war crimes have been committed.
The ICC prosecutor’s office (OTP) voiced on Monday “profound alarm and deepest concern” over reports from el-Fasher about mass killings, rapes, and other crimes allegedly committed.
“Within the ongoing investigation, the office is taking immediate steps regarding the alleged crimes in (el-Fasher) to preserve and collect relevant evidence for its use in future prosecutions,” ICC prosecutors said in a statement.
El-Fasher atrocities part of ‘a broader pattern’
The ICC sounded the alarm on Monday concerning the situation in el-Fasher, which the RSF captured following an 18-month siege. The ICC prosecutor’s office addressed reports concerning several crimes committed at the hand of the paramilitary rebels.
“These atrocities are part of a broader pattern of violence that has afflicted the entire Darfur region since April 2023,” said the office in a statement.
“Such acts, if substantiated, may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity under the Rome Statute,” referring the founding text of the ICC.
According to the United Nations, more than 65,000 people have fled el-Fasher, including approximately 5,000 to the nearby town of Tawila. However, tens of thousands remain trapped and others are unaccounted for after fleeing.
Before the final assault, approximately 260,000 people lived in the city.
Red Cross warns ‘history repeating’ in Darfur
Meanwhile, the head of the Red Cross said that history is repeating itself in Darfur.
On Friday, the UN human rights office said that hundreds of civilians and unarmed fighters may have been killed during the fall of the city.
“The situation in Sudan is horrific,” International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) President Mirjana Spoljaric told the Reuters news agency in a weekend interview.
“It’s history repeating, and it becomes worse every time a place is taken over by the other party,” she said.
According to Spoljaric, tens of thousands of people had fled el-Fasher after the RSF seized the city, and that tens of thousands more were likely trapped there without access to food, water, or medical assistance.
Years of violence driven by ethnicity followed the crackdown on Darfur rebels in the 2000s, resulting in the deaths of hundreds of thousands, a situation that was widely labeled as genocide. The RSF has its roots in the “Janjaweed” militias mobilized by the government in Khartoum at the time.
What role do foreign players have in Sudan?
The United Arab Emirates has repeatedly been accused of supporting the RSF, but has denied doing so. Meanwhile, the army authorities also have foreign backers, including Egypt.
When asked about her message to the alleged foreign backers of the parties involved in the conflict, Spoljaric said: “Especially those states that have an influence on parties to conflict are under responsibility to do the necessary to restrain them and to make sure that they protect civilian populations.”
The conflict in Sudan began in April 2023 has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced nearly 12 million, resulting in the world’s largest displacement and hunger crises.
Edited by: Rana Taha, Zac Crellin
