Guterres and Chandi condemn violations of RSF in Al Jazeera state

Moatinoon
Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, strongly condemned recent attacks by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Al Jazeera State as violence escalated across the Sudan. Mohammed Chandi Osman, head of the United Nations-supported group of experts, accused the RSF of sexual violence as the war raged on the Associated Press.

In a statement attributed to his spokesman, the Secretary-General expressed alarm at reports that large numbers of civilians had been killed, detained and displaced and that sexual violence had been committed against women and girls, homes and markets had been looted and farms burned.

The United Nations statement said that such acts represented grave violations of international humanitarian and human rights law and stressed the need to hold accountable the perpetrators of such grave violations.

The Secretary-General noted with concern the continued deterioration of the situation in the Sudan, with widespread hunger and disease and half of the populations need for assistance. Guterres called on all parties to the conflict to facilitate safe, urgent and unhindered humanitarian access to all civilians in need, through all necessary means, in conformity with their obligations under international humanitarian law.

The Secretary-General renewed his call for a ceasefire to protect Sudanese civilians vulnerability to further danger. The statement confirmed that the Secretary-Generals Personal Envoy for the Sudan would continue to engage with the parties and all concerned to de-escalate the conflict and explore ways to strengthen the protection of civilians.

On Friday, the head of the UN-backed fact-finding team looking into human rights violations and violations in the Sudan said he had found paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) responsible for widespread sexual violence in areas under their control.

Mohammed Chandi Osman today condemned the "horrific violence" in the Sudan since the outbreak of the war more than 18 months ago between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces, starting with open fighting in the capital Khartoum, which later spread throughout the country.

Osman said that the renewal of the UN Human Rights Council would allow his team of independent experts to investigate "credible" cases of sexual exploitation by the SAF as well.