The UN Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide has warned of the risk of such crimes occurring in the country and that they may already be being perpetrated.
“Civilians in Sudan must be protected urgently,” said Alice Nderitu.
“There is a risk of genocide in Sudan. It is real and that risk is continuing to be witnessed every day,” she added.
Ms. Nderitu made these remarks on Tuesday while addressing a United Nations Security Council (UNSC) meeting commemorating the 25th anniversary of the resolution on the protection of civilians in conflict.
The meeting was also used to mark the 75th anniversary of the signing of the Geneva Conventions on the protection of civilian rights during wartime.
Ms. Nderitu stated that many Sudanese civilians are being targeted in times of war based on their ethnicity.
“In the areas of Darfur El Fasher, civilians are being attacked and killed because of their skin color, because of their tribe, because of their identity,” Nderitu said in a video-addressed speech.
“Similarly, they are being targeted by inciting statements which can lead to war,” she added.
El Fasher is a major city in North Darfur, where fighting erupted between Sudanese soldiers (SAF) camped there and fighters from the RSF rebel group reportedly approaching the city to capture it.
The city of El Fasher is unique in the Darfur region in that it has not been captured by the RSF.
More than 800,000 civilians live in the city, and the fighting could lead to atrocities similar to the genocide perpetrated by Janjaweed fighters against the Zaghawa, Masalit, Fur, and other tribes in the early 2000s.
Members of the Janjaweed group, of Arab descent, later became members of the RSF.
“Ethnically motivated attacks targeting the Masalit, Fur, and Zaghawa communities have been reported and continue to be reported. Essentially, they are being carried out by the RSF and Arab militia groups,” Nderitu explained.
“They are reported to carry out attacks in a certain manner targeting specific areas and people. This is a sign that they continue to have a particular intention or objective,” she added.
The intent to kill and destroy is part of the crime of genocide.
Ms. Nderitu said that the reported attacks in the villages surrounding the city of El Fasher seem aimed at displacing people from their homes and causing fear, rather than achieving specific military objectives.
“It is crucial that steps are taken to protect innocent civilians in El Fasher and across Sudan,” she said.
