ICC prosecutor expresses alarm over ongoing human rights violations in El Fasher News
Chansey, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
ICC prosecutor expresses alarm over ongoing human rights violations in El Fasher

The Office of the Prosecutor (OTP) of the International Criminal Court (ICC) on Monday expressed deep concern over recent reports emerging of mass killings, rapes, and other crimes allegedly committed during the course of the Rapid Support Forces’ seizure of El Fasher, North Darfur, in Sudan, which is said to be compounding an already catastrophic conflict. 

According to the OTP, these atrocities are part of a broader pattern of violence that has afflicted the entire Darfur region since April 2023 and would potentially constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity (CAH) under the Rome Statute.

The UN Human Rights office in October issued a press release on reports that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were carrying out atrocities, including summary executions, after seizing control of large parts of the besieged city of El Fasher, North Darfur, and of Bara city in North Kordofan state.

A report prepared by Yale University’s Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) the previous week purports to have documented evidence of the mass killings by RSF at a hospital in El Fasher, and along the defenses they have built on the periphery of the city. 

Citing the success of the ICC in its October conviction of Ali Kushayb, a senior leader of the pro-government Janjaweed militia, for similar crimes committed in Darfur some 20 years ago, the OTP has pledged accountability for the atrocious crimes that are currently ongoing in the country. 

Additionally, in light of the current preliminary investigations in El Fasher, the OTP has called upon individuals and organizations to submit any information or evidence related to recent and prior events in El Fasher through the secure OTP Link platform. 

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