Sudan’s RSF says it arrested fighters accused of El-Fasher abuses • FRANCE 24 English

Well, first in this edition, after widespread outrage over reports of a massacre at a hospital in Alasir, uh, which left hundreds dead, Sudan’s paramilitary rapid support forces claimed Friday that they’ve arrested several fighters accused of committing abuses during the capture of the western city. The group also claimed to adhere to the law, the rules of conduct, and military discipline during wartime, vowing to carry out investigations and bring fighters to justice. Observers though have already expressed skepticism especially as new information about the extent of ongoing massacres emerges. On Friday the UN human rights office said that hundreds of Sudin civilians and unarmed fighters may have been killed in paramilitary forces capture of alaser. The international organization detailing a pattern of abuse since the start of the war. Take a listen. For more than uh two and a half years uh we’ve been documenting serious violations of human rights and IHL by the Sudanese armed forces and the rapid response forces. Um torture, murder, summary execution, sexual violence are only a few of the main violations that are taking place. Hospitals, markets, water stations have been destroyed by both the waring parties and of course homes and properties looted. Well, for more we’re going to cross now to our regional correspondent Bastian Renui in Nairobi. Hi Bastian. So I mean how significant uh are these alleged arrests? I could even ask how how credible uh really they are. Well, you know, it’s not the first time that the rapid support forces arrest some of their members during this war. And every time it happens after a public outcry, after a massacre and so far, to my knowledge, no one has been judged. Why do they do that? Because the rapid support forces want to show that they are following the rules of war, that they are protecting civilians. But that’s not true. Every time they capture a city, they capture a town, a village, civilians are killed. I’ve seen dozens of videos shot in El Faser and I can tell you that they’ve been killing hundreds of civilians. I’ve seen videos of men being executed. They are sometimes blindfolded. Rapid support forces tell them to sit on the ground and they execute them with AK-47s. They attack people fleeing the city. So there is widespread uh killing spree from the rapid support forces in this city. It’s a strategy from the rapid support forces. We know that for for a long time they’ve been doing the same thing everywhere in Daru. So how significant are these arrests? I would say that they’re probably probably not significant at all. So I mean Bastion civilians unfortunately are are are killed in in every conflict. But what do we know about the reasons specifically behind uh these RSF massacres uh in Darur? What’s the objective if you can even speak of such a thing? Well, it’s ethnic cleansing. Uh to understand that you have to understand that the Sudani society is divided into two groups. Members of Arab tribes and members of African tribes rapid support forces members are a part of a of Arabic tribes and they believe that they are the masters of Darur. They want to eradicate members of African tribes. That’s what happened in 2003 during the civil war in Dur. At that time the rapid support forces were not a paramilitary force. They were called ginger militia and they killed hundreds of thousands of people. And the same thing is happening at the moment. You know the last time I traveled to Darur was in 2022 just before the war. Uh when I was in Elgenina, the capital of West Dur, I saw many members of the Arab tribes calling African tribes members. uh slaves. It gives you an idea of the relation they have and they’re not even hiding to say that. And shortly after when the war broke in 2023, the rapid support forces took control of the city and they killed more than 10,000 civilians according to the United Nations. So the destl might be even worse in Alasia because 200,000 people civilians were living in the city when the rapid support forces won the battle versus the Sudan military.

Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces said they had arrested several of their fighters accused of committing abuses during the capture of the city of El-Fasher. Although the goal is to show that the RSF follows the rules of war, it’s probable those arrests “are not significant at all” FRANCE 24’s Bastien Renouil says from Nairobi. He tells us more on the political situation in Darfur.
#Sudan #SudanWar #Darfur

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11 comments

  6. Where are the protests in London , Paris, and all over the world? 🤔 🤔 When the Muslims are the ones who commit the crimes is OK because protest teams are paid by Turkey and UAE and Qatar

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