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31-10-2025
KHARTOUM/ CAIRO/ RIYADH: Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Qatar, Turkiye and Jordan have condemned the abuses committed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) during their capture of the city of el-Fasher in Sudan, as more evidence emerged of mass killings in the strategic area.
The denunciations on Tuesday came as researchers at Yale University said satellite imagery of el-Fasher, taken after the RSF moved in, shows clusters of objects consistent with the size of human bodies, as well as large areas of red discoloration on the ground.
The RSF has been locked in a bloody civil war with Sudan’s army since 2023, in a conflict that has killed tens of thousands and displaced more than 12 million people.
The paramilitary force overran el-Fasher, the army’s last stronghold in Darfur, on Sunday after 17 months of siege.
The Sudanese government said that at least 2,000 people have been killed in the city since then, while aid agencies say they have received credible reports of atrocities, including summary executions, attacks on civilians along escape routes and house-to-house raids.
Sexual violence, particularly against women and girls, was also reported in the city, they said.
El-Fasher’s fall puts the RSF in near full control of the vast region of Darfur and has raised concerns of another split of Sudan, more than a decade after South Sudan’s creation.
Saudi Arabia, in a statement on Tuesday, expressed “deep concern and condemnation of the grave human rights violations” and called on the RSF to fulfil their responsibility to protect Sudanese civilians.
Egypt, which shares a border with Sudan, called for all “possible measures to be taken to achieve an immediate humanitarian truce across Sudan”, while also reaffirming its continued commitment to “providing all possible support to help” the neighboring country overcome its current crisis.
Turkiye called for the immediate cessation of hostilities in el-Fasher, while also urging “safe passage, the unimpeded delivery of humanitarian aid, and an end to attacks on innocent civilians”, according to the Anadolu news agency.
It also condemned the “atrocities committed against civilians in el-Fasher” and “highlighted the importance of dialogue to find a peaceful solution to the conflict”.
Qatar, too, condemned the “horrific violations” in el-Fasher and called for dialogue to resolve the crisis.
Egypt, Turkiye and Qatar all reiterated their “firm support for the unity, independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity of Sudan”, with Cairo saying it rejected “any attempts to divide the country or undermine its unity and territorial cohesion”.
Jordan joined the chorus of concern, saying in a statement that it condemned the violations against civilians and stressed the “urgent need to exercise restraint and implement a ceasefire to safeguard civilian lives”.
The RSF has not addressed the allegations against it.
The paramilitary force grew out of the notorious government-backed/linked militia known as the Janjaweed, which carried out genocide during the Darfur conflict in the 2000s. The US has also declared that the RSF and its allies have committed genocide in the current war.
In comments in Malaysia on Monday, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the fall of el-Fasher marked a “terrible escalation” in the war and called for a cessation of foreign military support to the warring parties. (Int’l News Desk)
