Thousands of Civilians Killed in RSF Sudan's 3-Day Offensive

The situation in Sudan's Darfur/Screen capture via UN News

JAKARTA - The United Nations Human Rights Office has recorded more than 1,000 civilians killed in a three-day attack by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) earlier this year in the largest refugee camp in western Sudan.

RSF raided the Zamzam camp in April as part of the siege of the city of el-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur province.

During the attack, hundreds of people were executed without trial, according to the report. People were killed in house-to-house raids and major markets, as well as in schools and health facilities.

As reported by the Associated Press, Friday, December 19, the UN report details patterns of sexual violence, "including rape and gang rape, and sexual slavery."

The report calls it a "pattern of serious violations that are consistent with international humanitarian law and gross violations of international human rights law."

This comes weeks after Amnesty International accused RSF of committing war crimes in their assault on the camp.

Zamzam is the largest refugee camp in Sudan with more than 500,000 people there before the April attacks.

RSF blocked the entry of food and other essential goods into the Zamzam camp for months before the attack, according to a UN report.

The Zamzam camp was established in 2004 to house people displaced from their homes by the Sudanese Janjaweed militia. Located south of el-Fasher, the camp has grown over the years to cover an area along 8 kilometers (5 miles) and a width of about 3 kilometers (2 miles).

RSF has been at war with Sudan's military since April 2023. The conflict has killed 40,000 people - although some human rights groups say the death toll is much higher - and has created the world's worst humanitarian crisis with more than 14 million people displaced. Many areas are experiencing famine, including in Zamzam camp.

"The findings contained in this report are a clear reminder of the need for immediate action to end the cycle of cruelty and violence, and to ensure accountability and compensation for victims," said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.

Türk warned that the pattern of violence in Zamzam is now repeating in el-Fasher after RSF took over the city.

"This horrific pattern of violations - committed with impunity - is in line with what has been repeatedly documented by my office, including during the RSF takeover of el-Fasher in late October," Türk said.

Separately, Sudan's top general met with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sissi in Cairo on Thursday amid mounting pressure to end the war in Sudan.

Burhan's meeting with el-Sissi came after the Sudanese general held talks with Saudi officials in Riyadh earlier this week.

US envoy Massad Boulos was also in Riyadh at the same time and met with Saudi officials. There was no public announcement of Burhan meeting with the American officials.