The UN Human Rights Chief has expressed major concerns regarding the rising violence in the vicinity of El-Fasher, Sudan. High Commissioner for Human Rights at the UN, Volker Türk, recently discussed the situation with the conflicting parties’ commanders. He warned about the impending humanitarian catastrophe if the city is assaulted.
Meanwhile, the UN’s Deputy Humanitarian Coordinator for Sudan, Toby Harward, told UN News about the calamitous state of affairs in El-Fasher and the surrounding North Darfur’s localities. The security situation has deteriorated significantly in recent weeks, marked by a surge in arbitrary killings, livestock theft, destroying villages in rural areas, escalating air raids on parts of the city, and a tightening siege around El-Fasher, impacting humanitarian aid convoys and blocking commercial trade.
The strife escalated in Sudan in mid-April 2023 following the tensions between General Abdel Fattah Burhan’s military and Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. This led to street clashes in the capital, Khartoum, mainly due to the integration of the Rapid Support Forces into the armed forces.
The conflict has spread to different parts of the country, emphasizing urban areas and the vast western Darfur region. According to reports, El-Fasher has seen a considerable rise in casualties with at least 58 civilians killed and an additional 213 injured in the recent bouts of fighting in the North Darfur town.
Ravina Shamdasani, speaking on behalf of High Commissioner Volker Türk, stated that High Commissioner Türk has cautioned the commanders about the disastrous effect on civilians and the potential for ensuing intercommunal conflict, leading to disastrous humanitarian outcomes.
The conflict in Sudan has continued for thirteen months, with around 25 million people, including 14 million children, needing support as a result of the war, as per estimates. Although donors pledged $2.1 billion in humanitarian aid for Sudan on April 15, 2024, the UN’s appeal for $2.7 billion to assist nearly 15 million of the country’s 58 million people has only received 12 percent of the necessary funding, according to Nkweta-Salami.
As per UN estimates, the casualty count in Sudan has reached 15,000 since the conflict started in April 2023. The strife has dislocated 8.8 million people from their homes.
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