UN warns of humanitarian crisis, more than 700 killed in el-Fasher siege

A UN report said at least 782 civilians have been killed since May "amid frequent and intense shelling of North Darfur (Sudan)".

The new UN report comes as the World Food Programme (WFP) said three of its staff were killed in aerial bombing. (Source: Reuters)

The UN human rights chief said more than 700 people have been killed in el-Fasher in Sudan’s North Darfur state since May, and called on the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to end the siege of the city.

The siege and “relentless fighting are destroying daily life on a massive scale,” UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement on December 20.

“This alarming situation cannot continue. Rapid Support Forces must end this terrible siege,” he added.

The UN human rights office has recorded at least 782 civilian deaths and more than 1,143 injuries since May, a figure based partly on interviews with people who have fled the area. The casualties have come amid frequent and intense shelling of densely populated residential areas by the RSF and continued airstrikes by the Sudanese Armed Forces.

Such attacks on civilians could amount to war crimes. Both sides have repeatedly denied deliberately attacking civilians and accused each other of doing so in el-Fasher and surrounding areas.

The Sudanese army, led by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF, led by former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, have been locked in conflict for more than 18 months. The fighting has created a deep humanitarian crisis that has forced more than 12 million people to flee their homes and left UN agencies struggling to provide relief.

El-Fasher is one of the most intense frontlines between the RSF and the Sudanese army and its allies, who are fighting to maintain their last foothold in the Darfur region. Observers fear that an RSF victory there could lead to ethnic reprisals, as happened in West Darfur last year.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/tinh-hinh-sudan-lien-hop-quoc-bao-dong-khung-hoang-nhan-dao-hon-700-nguoi-thiet-mang-trong-cuoc-bao-vay-el-fasher-298287.html