The UN human rights office, OHCHR, has voiced alarm over reports
of another ethnically motivated mass attack in the Darfur region
of Sudan, amidst the ongoing conflict between the national army
and a rival military known as the Rapid Support Forces
(RSF).
Hundreds of ethnic Masalit civilians were reportedly killed
earlier this month in Ardamata town, West Darfur, by the RSF and
their allied Arab militia.
The RSF has its roots in the Janjaweed militias which fought on
the Government side against a rebel coalition in the Darfur war
two decades ago. Some of its leaders face outstanding war
crimes and atrocity crimes charges.
‘Six days of terror’
“Preliminary information we have obtained from survivors and
witnesses suggests Masalit civilians suffered six days of terror
at the hands of the RSF and its allied militia after they took
control of the Sudanese army’s base in Ardamata on 4
November,” said OHCHR Spokesman Jeremy
Laurence, speaking in Geneva.
The army base is located just outside the West Darfur capital, El
Geneina. Some of the victims were summarily executed or
burnt alive.
Many of those killed were young Masalit men and relatives of
Sudanese soldiers remaining in Ardamata after the troops fled the
town.
Sexual violence, torture, executions
Mr. Laurence said women and girls were reportedly subjected to
sexual violence in the Ardamata camp for internally displaced
persons (IDPs) and in some homes. Thousands of people have been
displaced, with some fleeing across the border to Chad.
The RSF and its allied militias reportedly looted property at
Ardamata and another IDP camp, Dorti, as well as the Al-Kabri
neighbourhood, all of which are mainly inhabited by the Masalit
community.
IDPs were tortured and many executed, their bodies left unburied
on the streets.
OHCHR said 66 Masalit men were summarily executed in three
separate incidents on 5 November alone. In Al-Kabri district, men
were separated from women and killed. Hundreds more men were
arrested and taken to various RSF-run detention camps. Their fate
and whereabouts remain unknown.
Bodies in the streets
Ardamata marked the second reported mass attack by the RSF and
its allied Arab militia against Masalit civilians in a matter of
months, Mr. Laurence said.
Between May and June, hundreds of Masalit men, women, and
children – including the governor of West Darfur – were killed.
Many were buried in mass graves while some bodies were left in
the streets.
“Such attacks may constitute crimes under international law,” he
said.
He also pointed to serious allegations that in revenge attacks,
some Arab civilians were reportedly attacked by members of the
Masalit militias.
Appeal for condemnation
“All violations must stop immediately, and those responsible must
be brought to justice following thorough, independent and
impartial investigations,” he said.
He reiterated the call made in June by the UN High Commissioner
for Human Rights, Volker Türk, urging the RSF leadership to
unequivocally condemn and stop the killings, other violence and
hate speech targeted at civilians, based on their
ethnicity.
“Amid worrying reports of an imminent RSF assault on El Fasher,
the capital of North Darfur, we remind them and all other parties
to the conflict to respect their international humanitarian law
obligations to ensure protection of civilians and civilian
infrastructure,” he said.
