The United Nations warned on Thursday of an imminent risk of “large-scale, ethnically-driven attacks and atrocities” in Sudan’s western city of El-Fasher, urging urgent international action to protect civilians.
The UN human rights office raised the alarm after reports indicated that Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were deploying long-range drones in South Darfur, potentially preparing for a massive offensive against El-Fasher, the last major North Darfur city still held by the national army.
El-Fasher has endured over 500 days of unrelenting siege and violence. Without immediate steps to ease the stranglehold on the city, civilians face an even greater catastrophe,” UN rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement.
Turk stressed that atrocities were not inevitable, despite mounting evidence of widespread abuses against people fleeing the city, including torture and summary executions. He urged all parties to respect international humanitarian law, protect civilian lives and property, and halt atrocity crimes.
Citing new data, the UN said at least 91 civilians were killed between September 19 and 29 alone due to RSF artillery shelling, drone attacks, and ground raids. These actions, it warned, appear aimed at forcing mass civilian displacement from El-Fasher.
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