The United Nations has accused Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of killing at least 1,000 civilians during a three-day assault on the Zamzam refugee camp in the Darfur region last April.
In a report released on Thursday, the UN Human Rights Office said RSF fighters carried out widespread abuses during an attack on the camp, which lies near el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state. The assault formed part of the RSF’s ongoing siege of the city.
According to the report, hundreds of civilians were summarily executed, while sexual violence, including rape, was also documented. Investigators said the scale and brutality of the attack pointed to serious violations of international humanitarian and human rights law.
Zamzam was Sudan’s largest displacement camp before the assault, sheltering more than 500,000 people who had fled earlier waves of violence in Darfur. The UN said the RSF had blocked the entry of food, medical supplies and other essential goods for months prior to the attack, leaving residents in an increasingly desperate situation.
The findings add to a growing body of accusations against the RSF since the outbreak of Sudan’s civil war, with the group repeatedly blamed for mass killings, sexual violence and the forced displacement of civilians across Darfur.
The RSF has not publicly responded to the UN’s latest report.
Erizia Rubyjeana
Follow us on:
