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The United Nations Human Rights Council has passed a resolution to launch an immediate investigation into widespread abuses in Sudan, particularly focusing on the recent violence in the North Darfur city of El Fasher. The decision came during an emergency session convened to address escalating atrocities in the region, where hundreds have reportedly been killed in an assault by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The resolution, adopted with significant support, empowers a UN-backed fact-finding mission to "collect, consolidate and analyze evidence of such violations and abuses, including those amounting to ethnic cleansing" and to identify those responsible. El Fasher, the last major city in Darfur not under RSF control, hosts hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people and has become a focal point of the brutal conflict that has engulfed Sudan since April 2023.
Eyewitnesses and human rights organizations have documented a devastating campaign by the RSF and its allied militias. According to reports, fighters have been systematically targeting non-Arab communities, particularly the Massalit people, in what has been described as a brutal campaign of ethnic cleansing. The fall of El Fasher has triggered fears of a repeat of the large-scale atrocities seen in other parts of Darfur.
The conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), led by General Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the RSF, commanded by General Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, has created a severe humanitarian crisis. International calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities have intensified following the reported rampage in Darfur, with diplomats at the UN session in Geneva condemning the violence. The newly mandated investigation aims to lay the groundwork for future accountability and justice for the victims. However, investigators face significant challenges, including securing safe access to conflict zones. The UN Human Rights Council resolution marks a critical step by the international community to address the impunity that has fueled the cycle of violence in Sudan.
