Civilians in Sudan’s Kordofan region must be protected amid reports of escalating Rapid Support Forces (RSF) attacks in the area, Amnesty International said today.
- At least 40 people reportedly killed in drone attack outside El Obeid
- Civilians trapped in El Obeid must be allowed to leave safely
- All states – especially UAE – must end supply of arms to RSF
The RSF have seized the town of Bara in North Kordofan in recent days and stepped-up attacks around the nearby city of El Obeid. On 3 November, a drone strike reportedly killed at least 40 people at a funeral outside El Obeid. Besides encircling El Obeid, the RSF have also continued to besiege the city of Kadugli in South Kordofan.
“The world cannot continue to turn its back on civilians in Sudan, especially in the Kordofan region, when the grave dangers they face are clear for all to see. It is unconscionable to stand by as civilians are at risk of being killed by RSF fighters. There must be no repeat of the horrific bloodshed and atrocities we have seen in reports emerging from El Fasher in recent weeks,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.
“The RSF must immediately end all attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, and guarantee safe passage for civilians trying to leave El Obeid and seek sanctuary elsewhere. All states fuelling the Sudan conflict must immediately put a stop to this. The United Arab Emirates in particular must end its military assistance, including the supply of weapons, to the RSF.
“International and regional supporters of the RSF must also demand that its forces respect international humanitarian law and ensure civilians are protected. They must also do whatever they can to to prioritize and enhance accountability for violations and abuses.”
Since the RSF took control of the city of El Fasher from Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) on 26 October, multiple videos have emerged revealing a series of mass killings and attacks on civilians.
In a statement issued on 3 November, the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court expressed alarm regarding reports emerging from El Fasher about mass killings, rapes, and other crimes allegedly committed during the course of attacks by the RSF.
“The international community – including the UAE, the UN Security Council, EU member states, the United Kingdom, United States, Russia, and China – has failed the people of Sudan. They must put urgent pressure on the RSF leadership to end their brutal attacks on civilians,” said Agnès Callamard.
Amnesty International is also calling on relevant regional bodies – including the African Union, the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD), the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and the Arab League – to further pressure the RSF to end attacks on civilians.
Background to the conflict between the RSF and SAF
The ongoing conflict in Sudan began in April 2023. It has killed tens of thousands of people and displaced over 12 million, making it the world’s largest humanitarian crisis. The RSF, a paramilitary force fighting the SAF, has laid siege to El Fasher since May 2024. On 26 October, the RSF claimed that it had taken control of parts of El Fasher, the last major city in Darfur under SAF control. On 27 October, the SAF announced it had withdrawn its forces from the city.
El Fasher was home to over 1.5 million people, including hundreds of thousands of internally displaced persons who fled fighting in other parts of Darfur in the early-2000s and from the ongoing conflict. It is estimated that around 260,000 civilians were trapped in the city ahead of the attacks on 26 October.
Amnesty International has documented war crimes by the RSF and allied Arab militias where they jointly carried out ethnically targeted attacks against the Masalit and other non-Arab communities in West Darfur.
Amnesty International has previously documented how the conflict in Sudan is being fuelled by a constant flow of weapons into the country, in flagrant breach of the existing arms embargo on Darfur.
What you can do
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