Sudan’s Darfur region at risk of genocide amid global distractions
As the world’s attention remains fixed on conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza, a chilling warning has been issued by a UN expert regarding the escalating risk of genocide in Sudan’s Darfur region.
The UN Special Adviser of the Secretary-General on the Prevention of Genocide, Alice Wairimu Nderitu, expressed grave concerns during an interview on BBC’s Newsday program. She highlighted the targeted attacks on civilians based on ethnicity in the besieged city of El Fasher, where recent intense fighting has claimed over 700 lives in just 10 days.
El Fasher stands as the final major urban center in Darfur still under the control of Sudan’s army amidst ongoing clashes with the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) that have resulted in a devastating civil war, leading to thousands of deaths and millions displaced.
Ms. Nderitu drew parallels to the infamous Rwanda genocide of 1994, as a UN analysis points to escalating risk factors in Darfur. She emphasized the urgent need for global attention to this escalating crisis, which has been overshadowed by other conflicts around the world.
Human Rights Watch (HRW) also raised alarm about potential genocide in Darfur, citing ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity targeting the Massalit and non-Arab communities at the hands of the RSF and its allies. The report called for sanctions against those responsible, including RSF leader Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo.
The current violence stems from longstanding tensions over resources between non-Arab farmers and Arab pastoralists, with residents describing a harrowing atmosphere of fear and death as the conflict rages on unabated.
With internet access cut off and the city besieged by RSF forces, the situation in El Fasher remains dire, with an estimated 15,000 casualties reported in El Geneina last year alone.
The conflict escalated dramatically last June when West Darfur Governor Khamis Abakar was assassinated shortly after accusing the RSF of genocide, marking a tragic turn in the ongoing crisis.
Despite denials from the RSF, which claims the conflict is a “tribal dispute,” the paramilitary group’s dark history traces back to the Janjaweed militia accused of genocide in Darfur in 2003.
