JAKARTA - The United Nations Human Rights Council on Monday passed a motion condemning the escalating violence carried out by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitary in al-Obeid, Sudan, as well as establishing an urgent investigation into alleged violations there.
Britain, which put forward the motion with 14 other countries, had previously warned of the risk of large-scale atrocities as the RSF deployed troops around one of Sudan's largest cities, an encirclement reminiscent of the takeover of al-Fashir in North Darfur last year.
"This horror must not be repeated," British Human Rights Ambassador Eleanor Sanders told the body, Al Arabiya and Reuters reported (6/7).
Meanwhile, South African Ambassador Zaheer Laher, supported the move, calling the situation a "red alert because the Rapid Support Forces are using the same genocidal tactics they used in al-Fashir."
The motion was adopted by consensus although China abstained from the decision, saying it did not support investigations targeting specific countries without their support.
Earlier, the UN Human Rights Chief on Friday warned that a "catastrophe" was unfolding around al-Obeid, and his office had documented patterns of extrajudicial executions, abductions, torture, and sexual violence in the surrounding area.
In the past, RSF has denied the violations during more than three years of civil war, saying the reports were fabricated by its enemies and filed counter-charges against them.
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