Nairobi – The United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Special Adviser on the Prevention of Genocide, Mr. Chaloka Beyani, has sounded a grave warning over the escalating violence in Sudan, citing credible reports of systematic and targeted attacks against civilian populations protected under international law.
Speaking after high-level consultations in Nairobi, Mr. Beyani said verified information indicates that both the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF), together with allied militias, have committed serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law.
“These violations include summary executions, torture, arbitrary arrests, inhuman treatment in detention, and deliberate attacks against civilians,” he said.
According to the UN official, the RSF is strongly implicated in large-scale atrocities in El Fasher and surrounding areas. Reported abuses include murder, rape, sexual slavery, torture, forced displacement, ethnic persecution of non-Arab communities, and the deliberate use of starvation as a weapon of war through denial of access to food, medicine, and humanitarian assistance.
Mr. Beyani further noted that both warring sides have destroyed critical civilian infrastructure, including hospitals, markets, water systems, food supplies, and displacement camps—deepening what he described as an already catastrophic humanitarian crisis.
“Hospitals and medical facilities are under siege, humanitarian aid is being deliberately blocked, and aid workers are being targeted,” he warned, adding that the scale and systematic nature of the violations may amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing, and possibly genocide.
Of particular concern, Mr. Beyani highlighted ethnically motivated attacks by the RSF and allied militias in North Darfur against the Zaghawa, Masalit, and Fur communities. He said these attacks—characterized by mass killings, sexual violence, destruction of livelihoods, forced displacement, and hate speech—may indicate an intent to destroy these groups in whole or in part.
“Subject to judicial determination, such acts may fall under the crime of genocide as defined in the 1948 Genocide Convention,” he stated.
To avert further atrocities, the UN official called for an immediate ceasefire, unhindered humanitarian access, and the urgent protection of civilians. He urged the demilitarization of cities, particularly in Darfur and Kordofan, supported by strong monitoring mechanisms with a central role for the United Nations.
Mr. Beyani also appealed to the international community to halt the flow of arms into Sudan, in line with existing UN arms embargoes and the African Union’s Silencing the Guns initiative.
“Continued weapons supplies are fueling violence and exacerbating human suffering,” he said, stressing that decisive international action is critical to prevent further loss of life and avert the risk of mass atrocities.
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