Since 15 April 2023 to date, Sudan witnessed a fierce war between the Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, which led to grave violations of human rights. According to the Preliminary Committee of the Sudan Doctors’ Syndicate, the number of deaths among civilians since the clashes began has risen to 958, while 4,746 casualties were recorded, during the period from 27 May to 12 June 2023. As the war enters its third month, the suffering of the Sudanese people is exacerbated, amidst a collapse of the health sector, deterioration of basic services, unreliable communications, and scarcity of fuel and liquidity; especially in Darfur, west of the country, which suffers from tragic conditions, in particular in the city of El Geneina, which was described as hellish by the Preliminary Committee of the Sudan Doctors’ Syndicate.
Women Facing Rape
According to broadcasts by Radio Dabanga, armed men raped three women, on 17 June 2023, after entering the city of Ed-Dubeibat in South Kordofan state. They also carried out widespread looting in the city, after attacking a bus coming from Khartoum on its way to West Kordofan state, while it was stopped in the market, and confiscating the passengers’ personal belongings. Eyewitnesses described the condition of one of the raped women as serious, and she was admitted for treatment.
The armed groups carried out large-scale looting never witnessed before in the area, which entailed targeting government institutions, private companies, and the town market. Citizens from Ed-Dubeibat told Radio Dabanga that armed groups coming from Al-Quoz area riding hundreds of motorbikes, who then followed by others from different regions, carried out large-scale looting, which targeted shops in the market area, local administrative buildings, security apparatus buildings, banks, the city hospital, the zakat office, oil factories, railway facilities, and granaries, in addition to a train, the railwagons of which were loaded with goods destined for Darfur.
Kutum City Declared a Disaster Area
On 14 June 2023, the government of North Darfur declared the city of Kutum, 105 km west of the city of El-Fasher in western Sudan, a humanitarian disaster area, and requested urgent intervention from all humanitarian relief institutions, including United Nations’ agencies, in order to provide urgent assistance to thousands of afflicted people in the area.
Moreover, the governor of North Darfur State, Nimr Abdel-Rahman, revealed that a number of deaths and kidnappings occurred due to fighting between the armed forces and the Rapid Support Forces, and stressed the need to form an investigation committee on a number of violations that were committed.
Meanwhile, the Commissioner for Humanitarian Aid in North Darfur State, Dr. Abbas Youssef, said that the humanitarian situation in the stricken town of Kutum is very dire, and that urgent intervention is needed within 72 hours. He added that, according to reports received, more than 5,000 families in Kutum are in need of urgent humanitarian assistance, while the number of those affected in other areas is about 3,000 affected families.
Interruption of Internet and Communications, and Targeting Journalists
In a statement issued on 12 June 2023, the Sudanese Journalists’ Network condemned the grave violations committed against the inhabitants of Zalingei and El-Geneina cities in West Darfur State, where “the authorities cut off communication and internet services, completely isolating the population from the outside world, in clear violation of the right to access to communication services and the Internet; thus obstructing the flow of information, and jeopardizing the right to electronic free expression and publishing.” The statement stated that these actions were aimed at “covering up the crimes committed by the Rapid Support Forces against unarmed civilians, which targeted journalists, doctors, lawyers and activists; including murdering a number of them, against the backdrop of ongoing violations of the international humanitarian law and human rights conventions.”
In the same statement, the Network also condemned the violations to which a number of journalists were subjected; “journalist Ena’am Al-Nour, was kidnapped from the city of El-Geneina and detained for several days in a deserted location, with constant threats at gun point throughout the days of holding her captive, in addition to subjecting her to a number of severe forms of brutal physical and psychological torture. She sustained a head injury and lost consciousness. Her laptop was also damaged.” She was able to escape the city assisted by her relatives, after a force from the Rapid Support Forces surrounded their home and assassinated her brother, according to the statement.
The statement also mentioned that, on 11 June 2023, a military intelligence unit arrested journalist Khaleda Al-Laqani, who works for the Sudanese Al-Tayyar Newspaper, alongside her colleague, photojournalist Arwa. The statement said that “they were interrogated for four hours at the Arqin crossing, while they were interviewing those stranded at the crossing about their conditions and suffering. The intelligence unit confiscated the camera before releasing them.”
Furthermore, the statement documented that a group affiliated with the Rapid Support Forces broke into the house of journalist Mohammed Amin Yassin, correspondent of Al-Sharq Al-Awsat Newspaper in Khartoum, in the suburb of Burri, which is one of the old neighborhoods in the capital. In addition, another group of the same affiliation forced journalist Imad Al-Nadhif, who works for the Sudanese Al-Intibaha Newspaper, to exit a public transport, and subjected him to a search at gunpoint. One of the soldiers pointed a weapon at his chest under the pretext that he works for a newspaper affiliated with the army, before he was rescued by one of the officers, who also returned his belongings and released him”, according to the statement.
The statement concluded by reiterating the Sudanese Journalists’ Network condemnation of the “violations committed by both parties to the conflict against journalists and calls on both sides to put an end to undermining journalists, and rejects all attempts to silence them through terror and intimidation, and preventing them from carrying out their duties transparently and freely.” Also, the statement called upon “the United Nations and international and regional organisations to put pressure on the parties to the conflict to end violations against journalists, treat them with respect, and ensure their security and safety.”
The Tragic Events in the city of El-Geneina
Since the outbreak of the war on 15 April until June 2023, El-Geneina city of, capital of West Darfur State, witnessed violent clashes between the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces, in addition to clashes against a tribal backdrop.
The city also saw a series of systematic bloody attacks launched by the Rapid Support Forces and other militias, which led to the assassination of the state’s governor, Khamis Abkar, and killing of a large number of citizens.
Activists told Radio Dabanga that a group of the Rapid Support Forces bombed Al-Jamarek and Al-Madares neighborhoods with cannons and RPGs, which resulted in killing 17 people and injuring 37 others, including women, children and elderly persons. The activists explained that the neighborhoods that were bombed are among the most crowded with people who had fled armed attacks.
Local sources said that armed militias and Rapid Support Forces continue to besiege the city, with bombs constantly targeting Al-Jamarek neighborhood.
The situation in El-Geneina city can be described as tragic; the infrastructure of the health sector was destroyed due to the attacks. In addition, medicines and surgical supplies are lacking, which has led to an increase in deaths, especially among the wounded.
The hashtag (#El-Geneina_bleeds) was trending, as it confirmed the complete lack of security and the absence of state power, which led to the killing of more than 5,000 citizens and injuring more than 8,000 others.
The Sudan Doctors’ Syndicate issued a statement which reported a large number of casualties in El-Geneina city, including children, women and the elderly, as a result of the clashes, and described the situation in the city as “catastrophic and the worst ever.”
In another statement issued by the Sudan Doctors’ Syndicate on June 14th, 2023, on its Facebook page, in which it confirmed that “the number of deaths among civilians since the beginning of the clashes has risen to 958 deaths, and 4,746 casualties.”
Recommendations
The Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) expresses its deep concern over confirmed reports of ethnically motivated mass murders and assassinations, rape cases, extensive bombing of residential neighborhoods, including health institutions, especially in El-Geneina city, by the Rapid Support Forces and other allied militias, as well as targeting journalists by all parties to the ongoing conflict in Sudan.
The GCHR calls on all parties to the conflict to protect civilians, and respect their obligations in accordance with the international humanitarian law, especially with regard to allowing fleeing civilians to cross and reach safe areas.
Citizens’ access to the Internet is a human right that all parties to the conflict must respect. They should also ensure the provision of communication services throughout the country.
