{"id":56612,"date":"2025-11-02T02:39:37","date_gmt":"2025-11-01T23:39:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/?p=56612"},"modified":"2025-11-02T02:40:29","modified_gmt":"2025-11-01T23:40:29","slug":"56612","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/2025\/11\/02\/56612\/","title":{"rendered":"El-Fasher Descends Into a \u201cDarker Hell\u201d as UN and Global Powers Condemn Escalating Atrocities in Sudan"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sudan Events \u2013 Agencies<\/strong><\/p>\n

El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, has plunged into what UN officials describe as \u201ca darker hell,\u201d as international outrage mounts over reports of mass killings, ethnic violence, and attacks on hospitals following the city\u2019s capture by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).<\/p>\n

France: Expansion of RSF Attacks \u201cReminds Us of Past Atrocities\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

France\u2019s Ambassador to the United Nations, J\u00e9r\u00f4me Bonnafont, expressed his country\u2019s strong condemnation of the RSF\u2019s expanded and intensified assault on El-Fasher, saying that the reports from the city \u201cremind us of the mass atrocities committed in Darfur twenty years ago.\u201d<\/p>\n

He denounced the attack on the Saudi Maternity Hospital, where preliminary WHO reports indicate that around 460 people were killed, and stressed the need to hold perpetrators accountable. Bonnafont urged the Security Council to consider imposing new sanctions and emphasized that \u201cthere is no military solution to Sudan\u2019s conflict.\u201d<\/p>\n

He called on all external actors to stop providing financial and military support to the warring parties and urged both sides to respect the arms embargo on Darfur, renewed unanimously by the Council last December. \u201cFor months, France has called on this Council to take decisive action,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is urgent that we move beyond paralysis and adopt concrete measures.\u201d<\/p>\n

United Kingdom: Deep Concern Over Escalating Violence<\/strong><\/p>\n

UK Deputy Ambassador James Kariuki said his country, along with Algeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Guyana, and Denmark, had requested that the Security Council bring forward its meeting on Sudan due to \u201cdeep concern over escalating violence in El-Fasher and its devastating impact on civilians.\u201d<\/p>\n

He called on the RSF to comply fully with its obligations under international law to protect civilians and to halt attacks on aid workers and civilian infrastructure.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is vital that the RSF end all attacks on humanitarian personnel and infrastructure,\u201d he said, urging both parties to cooperate with the UN and humanitarian agencies, lift movement restrictions, and provide guarantees for safe and unhindered access to El-Fasher and surrounding areas.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is no military solution to this conflict,\u201d Kariuki added. \u201cContinued fighting will only deepen the crisis and prolong suffering.\u201d He called for an immediate ceasefire, a humanitarian truce, and a return to political dialogue.<\/p>\n

Algeria: RSF Control of El-Fasher a Step Toward Sudan\u2019s Fragmentation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Speaking on behalf of the African members of the Council\u2014Algeria, Sierra Leone, and Somalia\u2014along with Guyana, Algeria\u2019s Ambassador Amar Bendjama said that the scenario everyone had feared had now become \u201ca horrifying reality\u201d after the RSF seized El-Fasher, describing it as \u201ca dangerous step toward the fragmentation of Sudan.\u201d<\/p>\n

He referred to disturbing footage showing violence against civilians and reports that 460 patients and their companions were killed by RSF fighters at a maternity hospital.<\/p>\n

\u201cEl-Fasher is bleeding and calling for justice and a strong response from the international community,\u201d Bendjama declared. \u201cCan the deliberate slaughter of civilians ever be a path to legitimacy?\u201d<\/p>\n

He insisted that the Security Council must not remain silent in the face of such atrocities, emphasizing the need to hold the RSF accountable for its violations. \u201cAccountability is a powerful deterrent,\u201d he said. \u201cThe Council must ensure that the RSF does not continue killing and terrorizing innocent civilians with impunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

Bendjama said that the violations in El-Fasher were \u201cnot surprising\u201d but the result of months of international inaction. \u201cThe Security Council has a responsibility to protect civilians in Sudan,\u201d he said, urging intensified efforts to that end.<\/p>\n

UN Relief Chief Tom Fletcher: \u201cEl-Fasher Has Descended Into a Darker Hell\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said El-Fasher had \u201cdescended into a darker hell,\u201d citing credible reports of mass executions following the RSF\u2019s entry into the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe may not hear the screams, but as we sit here today, the horror continues,\u201d Fletcher said. \u201cWomen and girls are being raped, people are being mutilated and killed, with total impunity.\u201d<\/p>\n

He warned that \u201cthe killing is not confined to Darfur,\u201d pointing to similar atrocities in other regions, including Kordofan. Sudan\u2019s crisis, he said, is both \u201ca protection crisis and a hunger crisis.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSexual violence against women and girls is systematic,\u201d Fletcher continued. \u201cDeadly attacks on humanitarian workers have become the new normal.\u201d<\/p>\n

He highlighted the particular vulnerability of children, noting that countless minors are being forcibly recruited to fight, and that one in five civilians killed in El-Fasher this month was a child.<\/p>\n

Fletcher called for immediate and decisive action to stop the atrocities and to ensure full, unhindered humanitarian access across Sudan. He also urged greater funding for relief efforts.<\/p>\n

Expressing outrage over the Sudanese authorities\u2019 expulsion of the World Food Programme\u2019s Country Director and its Emergency Coordinator, Fletcher said: \u201cWhat is happening in El-Fasher echoes the horrors of Darfur twenty years ago. But somehow, today we are witnessing a global reaction that is alarmingly different\u2014one of indifference, resignation, and shrugged shoulders.\u201d<\/p>\n

Martha Pobee: \u201cNo One Is Safe in El-Fasher\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Martha Pobee, the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, warned that the risk of \u201cmass atrocities, ethnically targeted violence, and further violations of international humanitarian law\u2014including sexual violence\u2014remains alarmingly high across the country, particularly in El-Fasher.\u201d<\/p>\n

In her briefing to the Security Council, Pobee said the UN Human Rights Office had documented credible reports of mass killings and summary executions during house-to-house searches and as civilians attempted to flee the city.<\/p>\n

\u201cDespite proclaimed commitments to protect civilians, the reality is that no one is safe in El-Fasher,\u201d she said, adding that \u201cthere is no safe corridor for civilians to leave the city.\u201d<\/p>\n

She warned that Kordofan could become the next focus of military confrontation between the warring sides, citing reports of widespread RSF atrocities in Bara, North Kordofan, including revenge attacks with apparent ethnic motives and the summary execution of five Red Crescent volunteers.<\/p>\n

Pobee urged an immediate end to the fighting and sustained dialogue \u201cto reverse Sudan\u2019s accelerating descent into de facto fragmentation.\u201d She emphasized that external support was fueling the conflict, with continued inflows of weapons and fighters worsening an already dire situation.<\/p>\n

She criticized the Security Council\u2019s lack of decisive action despite months of warnings about the unfolding catastrophe in El-Fasher, urging members to \u201cuse all available tools to demand peace in Sudan.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pobee added that UN Special Envoy Ramtane Lamamra had invited both sides to begin technical talks\u2014separately\u2014with the UN to focus on de-escalation and civilian protection. She said Lamamra had received \u201cencouraging signals\u201d from both sides and called on member states with influence to press the parties to engage in the process.<\/p>\n

Russia: Atrocities in El-Fasher Are \u201cShocking\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n

Russia\u2019s Ambassador to the UN, Vassily Nebenzia, expressed concern over reports of widespread human rights violations, saying that violence against civilians\u2014especially when ethnically motivated\u2014is \u201cunacceptable.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe atrocities committed by the rebels against civilians in El-Fasher, and the images circulating online, are shocking,\u201d he said, pointing to similar incidents previously reported in Geneina and Gezira State.<\/p>\n

Nebenzia warned that the Council should harbor \u201cno illusion\u201d about the likelihood of such practices spreading to other areas outside government control. He noted reports of rising numbers of foreign fighters among RSF ranks, including combatants from regions far beyond Sudan\u2019s borders.<\/p>\n

He argued that the events in El-Fasher clearly demonstrate that the only viable path for Sudan is to restore stability and build unified state institutions, warning that \u201cany alternative path will only deepen the escalation and violence.\u201d<\/p>\n

Nebenzia stressed the importance of ensuring humanitarian access in coordination with the Sudanese government and cautioned against any approach that \u201cequates the warring parties or questions the legitimacy of the government,\u201d saying such steps would only \u201cencourage fragmentation.\u201d<\/p>\n

He called on all Council members to \u201cfocus on constructive engagement and tangible support for the Sudanese people rather than reinforcing divisions.\u201d<\/p>\n

United States: RSF and Allies Committed Genocide<\/strong><\/p>\n

US Ambassador Dorothy Shea accused the RSF and its allies of committing genocide, citing \u201csystematic killing of men and boys\u2014even infants\u2014and the deliberate targeting of women and children through rape and other forms of brutal sexual violence,\u201d driven by ethnic motives.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe United States condemns these heinous atrocities in the strongest possible terms,\u201d she said, stressing the need for accountability, including through sanctions.<\/p>\n

Shea said it was time to update Sudan\u2019s sanctions list and that the Security Council must use all available tools to facilitate peace in the country. She urged the warring parties to end hostilities, allow unhindered humanitarian access nationwide, and protect civilians.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is not enough for the RSF to make humanitarian commitments\u2014they must act on them,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Shea added that ending the wars is a top priority for President Trump, reaffirming Washington\u2019s commitment to working with partners and stakeholders to resolve the crisis.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Sudan Events \u2013 Agencies El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, has plunged into what UN officials describe as \u201ca darker hell,\u201d as international outrage mounts over reports of mass killings, ethnic violence, and attacks on hospitals following the city\u2019s capture by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). France: Expansion of RSF Attacks \u201cReminds Us of Past …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":27366,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56612","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-reports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56612","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=56612"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56612\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":56614,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/56612\/revisions\/56614"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27366"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=56612"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=56612"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sudanevents.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=56612"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}