Prosecutors at the International Criminal Court said they were collecting evidence of reported mass killings and sexual violence in Sudan’s Darfur region, after the Rapid Support Forces took control of El Fasher, the last army stronghold in the region.
The investigation comes as the United Nations migration agency said that more than 36,000 people have fled their homes since El Fasher fell to the Rapid Support Forces last week.
What is the ICC investigating?
The International Criminal Court has been investigating allegations of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Darfur since 2005, when the UN Security Council referred the case.
In a statement I quoted Reuters“As part of the ongoing investigation, the Office is taking immediate steps in relation to the alleged crimes in El Fasher to preserve and collect relevant evidence for use in future trials,” ICC prosecutors said.
Survivors said Reuters And that men who tried to flee El Fasher were separated from their families and killed. Experts said the attacks appeared similar to previous violence in Darfur, which was widely described as genocide.
The fate of an estimated 200,000 people believed to be trapped in the city remains unclear.
Why is the RSF’s control of El Fasher important?
The RSF’s control of El Fasher gives the group effective control over much of Darfur and more than a quarter of Sudan. The head of the International Committee of the Red Cross said Reuters And that “history repeats itself” in the region.
Last month, the International Criminal Court convicted a former leader of the Janjaweed militia for committing crimes in Darfur more than 20 years ago.
The court, based in The Hague, can prosecute war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity when committed on the territory of one of the 125 member states or when referred by the UN Security Council.
How many people have fled and where they are going
The GuardianThe International Organization for Migration reported that at least 36,825 people fled five localities in North Kordofan state from October 26 to 31.
Most of them traveled on foot to Tawila, a town already hosting more than 650,000 displaced people.
North Kordofan residents said Agence France-Presse The Rapid Support Forces and army forces have increased their presence across the region, with each side seeking to control El Obeid, a strategic center linking Darfur to the capital, Khartoum.
Suleiman Babiker, a farmer from Umm Sumaima, west of Al-Obeid, said, “We stopped going to our farms for fear of clashes.”
Another resident, who requested to remain anonymous, said that there was a “significant increase in army vehicles and weapons west and south of Al-Obeid” during the past two weeks.
Warnings from the United Nations and global reactions
Martha Poppe, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, warned of “large-scale atrocities” and “ethnically motivated reprisals” by RSF fighters in Barra, north of El Obeid.
She said the violence followed patterns seen in Darfur, where the Rapid Support Forces were accused of committing murder, sexual violence and kidnapping against non-Arab communities.
Pope Leo on Sunday called for an immediate ceasefire and the opening of aid corridors, saying attacks on civilians and obstacles to relief efforts were “causing unacceptable suffering.”
Sudan’s ambassador to Egypt, Imad al-Din Mustafa Adawi, accused the Rapid Support Forces of committing war crimes in El Fasher, and urged the international community to classify the group as a terrorist organization. “The Sudanese government will not negotiate with the paramilitary group,” Adawi said.
(tags for translation) International Criminal Court
