UN Reports Close to 800 Civilian Fatalities Amid Conflict in North Darfur Capital
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Geneva, Dec 21 (NationPress) The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) disclosed that the persistent siege and violent clashes in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur State in western Sudan, have tragically claimed the lives of at least 782 civilians and left over 1,143 injured since May 2024.
As per the report, fighting escalated dramatically in June of this year, with conflicting parties engaging in intense battles within populated areas.
Civilians have found themselves in perilous situations as residences were exploited for military activities, and marketplaces were targeted and raided. Numerous civilians lost their lives in their homes, in markets, near medical facilities, and on the streets, as reported by the Xinhua news agency.
Thousands of individuals are still trapped in the city without assurances of safe exit and face the threat of death or injury from indiscriminate assaults by all factions involved in the conflict, the report highlighted.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk has urgently called for an immediate cessation of the siege in El Fasher in a statement released on Friday.
Turk implored all conflicting parties to halt attacks on civilians and civilian structures, comply with international legal standards, and urged for prompt action from the global community to avert further escalation.
The Sudanese army, commanded by General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, have been embroiled in conflict for over 18 months. This war has precipitated a severe humanitarian crisis, displacing more than 12 million people and making it arduous for UN agencies to provide aid.
Since mid-April 2023, Sudan has been engulfed in a destructive conflict between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), resulting in over 28,700 deaths and displacing more than 14 million individuals, either within or outside Sudan, according to the latest data from international organizations.
