https://arab.news/ck27s
- UN envoy Dorothy Shea also condemns expulsion of senior World Food Programme officials by Sudan’s military government as famine looms in parts of country
- Paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has ‘killed men and boys, even infants,’ ‘targeted women and children for rape’ and other ‘ethnically motivated’ crimes
NEW YORK CITY: The US on Thursday accused Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces and allied militias of committing genocide in the besieged city of El-Fasher in North Darfur, as the UN continued to warn of escalating atrocities against civilians there.
“The Rapid Support Forces and allied militias have committed genocide,” the US deputy ambassador to the UN, Dorothy Shea, told a Security Council meeting on the situation in Sudan.
“They have systematically killed men and boys, even infants, and deliberately targeted women and children for rape and other forms of brutal sexual violence. These crimes are ethnically motivated.
“It is not enough for the RSF to make humanitarian commitments — they must implement them.”
RSF fighters were targeting civilians attempting to flee the fighting, and blocking humanitarian aid from reaching those trapped in the city, she added.
“The situation is both tragic and appalling. Those responsible should be held accountable, including through sanctions,” Shea said.
Describing the atrocities as “abhorrent,” Shea urged council members to update the list of sanctions imposed under the Darfur sanctions regime, which was established by the Security Council in 2005 and is known as the “1591 sanctions mechanism.”
“The council must use all tools at its disposal to facilitate peace,” she added.
She also condemned the expulsion this week of two senior World Food Programme officials by Sudan’s army-led government, saying it further hampered relief efforts as famine looms in parts of the country.
Shea said ending the war in Sudan was a priority for President Donald Trump’s administration, and that Washington remains committed to working with partners to secure an “immediate humanitarian truce” and a return to civilian governance.
“A civilian-led, post-conflict governance process is necessary to counter violent extremists, prevent the spread of conflict and foster meaningful negotiations among the parties,” she said.
“Sudan’s future governance is for the Sudanese people to decide through a neutral, inclusive and transparent transition process.”
Her remarks came as the Security Council convened an emergency session to discuss the deteriorating situation in El-Fasher, where UN officials say mass killings, rapes and executions have been reported amid an RSF offensive that has left thousands dead and tens of thousands displaced.