UN mission in Sudan speaks of ‘war crimes’ and recommends the deployment of a neutral force

The UN fact-finding mission in Sudan said on Friday that both sides in the conflict had committed “horrific human rights violations that may amount to war crimes,” calling on the Sudanese authorities to cooperate with the International Criminal Court.

The UN mission said in a report that the RSF had launched ethnically motivated attacks in the Darfur region, and that “both sides of the fighting practiced arbitrary arrests, torture and sexual violence,” as well as indiscriminate attacks, airstrikes and shelling against civilians, schools, hospitals, communications networks, water and electricity supplies.

The mission called on the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support to immediately and unconditionally stop attacks against civilians and recommended the deployment of an independent and impartial force to protect the population, while there was no immediate comment from the Sudanese authorities concerned on what was stated in the UN report.

The head of the fact-finding mission in Sudan, Mohamed Chandi Osman, said that “the seriousness of these findings confirms the need for urgent and immediate action to protect civilians,” according to Anadolu Agency quoted the same report.

“Given the failure of warring parties to protect civilians, it is essential to deploy an independent and impartial force mandated to protect civilians without delay,” he said, stressing that the protection of civilians is paramount, calling on parties to conflict to abide by international humanitarian law.

The report also found grounds to believe that “the RSF and allied militias committed additional war crimes, including rape and looting, as well as ordering the displacement of the civilian population, and recruiting children under the age of 15 in hostilities.”

These investigations included visits to Chad, Kenya and Uganda, first-hand testimonies from 182 survivors, their family members and eyewitnesses, extensive consultations with experts and members of civil society, and confirmation and analysis of additional information provided to the mission.

The report recommended extending the arms embargo in the Darfur region, under UN Security Council Resolution 1556 in 2004 and subsequent resolutions, to all parts of Sudan to stop the supply of weapons, ammunition and other logistical or financial support to the warring parties, and to prevent further escalation.

Since mid-April 2023, the Sudanese army and the RSF have been engaged in clashes that have left about 18,800 dead and nearly 10 million displaced and refugees, according to the United Nations.

This comes with mounting UN and international calls to end the war, averting a humanitarian catastrophe that has driven millions into starvation due to food shortages due to fighting that has spread to 13 out of 18 states.