A U.N.-mandated mission reported on Friday that both sides in Sudan’s civil war have carried out widespread abuses that could be classified as war crimes or crimes against humanity. The mission has recommended imposing an arms embargo and deploying a peacekeeping force to safeguard civilians.
The strategic location and agricultural resources of Sudan have drawn the interest of regional powers, making a smooth transition to a civilian-led government more challenging. Political instability and conflict have also impacted several of Sudan’s neighbours, such as Ethiopia, Chad, and South Sudan. As a result, a significant number of Sudanese refugees have fled the violence, with hundreds of thousands seeking refuge in neighbouring Chad.
The 19-page report by a UN Fact-Finding Mission, based on 182 interviews with survivors, their family members and witnesses, said that both the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were responsible for attacks on civilians and had used torture and carried out arbitrary arrests.
As the mission’s chair Mohamed Chande Othman, calls for an independent and impartial force to be deployed without delay, he said: “The gravity of these findings underscores the urgent and immediate action to protect civilians.”
The report is the three-member mission’s first since its creation in October 2023 by the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva.
Civilians in Sudan are facing worsening famine, mass displacement and disease after 17 months of war between the army and the RSF paramilitary.
U.S.-led mediators said last month that they had secured guarantees from both parties at talks in Switzerland to improve access for humanitarian aid, but that the Sudanese army’s absence from the discussions had hindered progress.
(With inputs from Reuters)
