The United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, issued a stark warning Thursday, stating that Sudan faces an imminent risk of renewed atrocities as violent clashes escalate across the Kurdufan region. The fighting pits the Sudanese Armed Forces against the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the country’s west.
In a statement released today, Türk detailed alarming findings. “The High Commissioner’s office has documented the deaths of at least 269 civilians as a result of airstrikes, artillery shelling, and summary executions during the RSF’s takeover of Bara city in North Kurdufan,” he stated, adding that the true civilian death toll is likely significantly higher.
Türk explained that communication and internet blackouts are severely hindering accurate reporting. He further emphasized that retaliatory killings, arbitrary arrests, abductions, and forced recruitment, including the recruitment of children, have been perpetrated in the affected region.
“It is truly shocking to see history repeating itself in Kurdufan so soon after the horrific events in El Fasher,” Türk lamented. He recalled the international community’s united condemnation of the “barbaric violations and destruction” in El Fasher, stressing that “Kurdufan must not be allowed to suffer the same fate.”
The UN High Commissioner called for the urgent “protection of humanitarian workers and local responders” and the restoration of communications to facilitate the delivery of life-saving assistance and enable the flow of essential information to civilians.
“Providing safe passage for those fleeing the horrors of starvation, death, and destruction is essential and a human rights imperative,” Türk asserted.
The armed conflict in Sudan, which erupted on April 15, 2023, between the Sudanese army and the RSF, has already claimed the lives of thousands of civilians and displaced millions from their homes due to the widespread violence. The situation demands immediate and concerted international attention to prevent further suffering and protect the fundamental human rights of the Sudanese people.
