Sudan Calls on UN Security Council to Impose Deterrent Sanctions on RSF
Sudan has called on the UN Security Council to impose deterrent sanctions on the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their backers, in order to lift the siege on El Fasher, the capital of Darfur State. The Sudanese government also welcomed the Security Council’s statement condemning RSF attacks on displacement camps surrounding the city, which has been besieged since May of last year.
In a statement released Friday evening, Sudan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomed the Security Council statement issued Thursday, which addressed the RSF’s attacks on El Fasher and the surrounding displacement camps. The statement said the Council expressed “deep concern” over escalating violence in North Darfur and called for holding the RSF and all perpetrators of crimes against civilians accountable.
According to the Foreign Ministry’s statement, the Security Council urged an end to the siege of El Fasher and a halt to attacks on the city. It also called for an end to what it described as “foreign interference” fueling the war and contributing to instability, while reaffirming the Council’s commitment to Sudan’s unity, sovereignty, and territorial integrity.
The Foreign Ministry further urged the Security Council to take more effective action to implement Resolution 2736, stating:
“The Ministry calls for more effective measures to implement UN Security Council Resolution 2736, nearly a year after it was passed. It has become clear that the RSF disregards appeals that are not followed by effective and deterrent punitive measures against its leaders and regional sponsors.”
The ministry’s statement added that the “militia” — referring to the RSF — responded to the Council’s appeals by escalating attacks on displacement camps and tightening the siege on humanitarian aid to El Fasher, as part of a campaign of genocide targeting Darfur communities, allegedly with the supervision of a regional backer.
The Ministry called on the international community to take steps to end impunity for those responsible for violations, stating:
“It is time for the international community to take concrete steps against those responsible for these atrocities, in order to uphold the principle of accountability.”
Mass Displacement
The RSF seized the Zamzam displacement camp south of El Fasher on April 11 following a large-scale assault that lasted three days. According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), over 400 civilians — including women, children, and the elderly — as well as 12 humanitarian workers were killed during the fighting in the Zamzam and Umm Kedada camps in North Darfur.
OCHA reported that more than 400,000 people fled from Zamzam camp to areas such as El Fasher, Dar es Salaam, and Tawila. Some also reached Jebel Marra in Central Darfur, in territory controlled by the Sudan Liberation Movement led by Abdel Wahid al-Nur.
The organization accused the RSF of carrying out forced displacement campaigns in and around Zamzam camp, destroying water stations, markets, and healthcare facilities in order to force residents to flee.
For its part, the RSF accused the army and its allied “joint forces” of turning displacement camps into “military bases and using civilians as human shields.” It released videos and images showing burnt ammunition, storage units, and military vehicles, claiming these were part of the army’s stockpiles inside the camp.
The RSF had earlier urged civilians to leave the camp and El Fasher city and relocate to areas under the control of what it described as “neutral” armed groups. It announced the forced displacement of tens of thousands, while pro-army armed groups — the so-called joint forces — rejected these relocations and called on civilians to stay and defend “their land and honor.”
On Thursday, the UN Security Council strongly condemned the RSF attacks on the Zamzam and Abu Shouk camps near El Fasher, which resulted in a large number of civilian casualties. In a statement issued after its session on Sudan, the Council expressed deep concern over the attacks.
