The Office of the Prosecutor, OTP of the International Criminal Court ICC, on Monday expressed deep concern over recent reports emerging about mass killings, rapes, and other crimes allegedly committed during the course of the Rapid Support Forces’ RSF attacks in El-Fasher, North Darfur, in Sudan, which have been 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, if substantiated, 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 RSF was 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 Humanitarian Research Lab HRL in the previous week has been reported to have managed to document evidence of the mass killings by RSF at a Former Children’s Hospital, El-Fasher, Saudi Hospital, and systematic mass killings of people along the Berm.
Premised on the success of the ICC in convicting Ali Kushayb, a senior leader of the pro-government Janjaweed militia, for the same crimes, in October this year, the OTP has promised 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 organisations 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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