UN Human Rights Commission: Violations and Atrocities Committed in El Fasher
Sudan Events – Agencies
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has called for independent and urgent investigations into the grave violations and atrocities committed during and after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) seized control of the city of El Fasher in Sudan, urging accountability for those responsible.
In a press briefing from Geneva, OHCHR spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani, joined by Seif Magango from Nairobi via Zoom, stated that available information indicates incidents of summary executions, mass killings, rape, assaults on humanitarian workers, looting, abductions, and forced displacement since the RSF stormed the city on October 23.
She added that the OHCHR office has received harrowing testimonies from survivors who fled El Fasher to the Tawila area, about 70 kilometers away—a journey that took three to four days on foot—alongside videos and photos showing serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.
Shamdasani noted that communications have been cut off and the situation in the city remains extremely chaotic, making it difficult to obtain direct information from within El Fasher. She warned that the death toll among civilians and incapacitated fighters could reach the hundreds.
The OHCHR also revealed alarming reports of patients and wounded individuals being killed inside the Saudi Maternity Hospital and other makeshift medical facilities in the Al-Daraja Al-Oula and Airport neighborhoods. These serious allegations, the office said, raise urgent concerns about the deliberate targeting of places that should be safe for those seeking medical treatment.
The commission also received reports of 25 women being subjected to gang rape by RSF elements after the forces stormed an internally displaced persons (IDP) center near El Fasher University, where around 100 families were forcibly expelled under threats and gunfire.
According to the reports, two local humanitarian workers were killed in El Fasher on October 27, while four attacks against volunteers were documented, and three doctors were detained by RSF forces inside the city.
In a related development, the OHCHR reported serious violations in Bara, North Kordofan State, including the execution of five Sudanese Red Crescent volunteers and the killing of at least 50 civilians on October 26—some during clashes and others executed on the spot for allegedly supporting the army.
The commission affirmed that these violations may amount to serious crimes under international law, calling for independent, transparent, and comprehensive investigations, and for ensuring victims and their families have access to truth, justice, and reparation.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk urged countries with influence over the warring parties to take immediate action to halt the violence, stop the flow of arms fueling these abuses, and ensure the protection of civilians.
Source: Muwatinoun
