The UN Human Rights Council has ordered an urgent inquiry into alleged atrocities in and around El-Fasher, condemning escalating violence, ethnically targeted killings, and widespread abuse attributed to the Rapid Support Forces.
The Human Rights Council held its 38th special session on Friday to address the worsening human rights situation in and around El-Fasher, Sudan, adopting without a vote a resolution mandating the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan to investigate recent alleged violations of international law in the region. The decision reflects growing alarm over the scale and severity of violence in a city that has become a focal point of the broader Sudan conflict.
In its resolution, the council strongly condemned the assault on El-Fasher by the Rapid Support Forces and associated groups, denouncing reported atrocities, including ethnically motivated killings, torture, summary executions, and widespread sexual and gender-based violence. The fact-finding mission has been tasked with identifying, where possible, those believed responsible and supporting future accountability mechanisms.
The council requested the UN human rights office to deliver a verbal update on developments before its 61st session. The fact-finding mission will present a full report on its inquiry at that session, followed by an enhanced interactive dialogue, underscoring the urgency with which the UN views the situation.
The special session opened with warnings from senior officials. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said the unfolding atrocities in El-Fasher were foreseeable and preventable, listing mass killings, ethnically targeted executions, and widespread sexual violence among the reported crimes. Adama Dieng, the African Union’s special envoy on the prevention of genocide and mass atrocities, urged the international community to halt the flow of weapons and fighters into Sudan, saying it is directly fuelling the targeting of specific identity groups.
Mona Rishmawi, representing the fact-finding mission, described much of El-Fasher as a crime scene and referred to evidence of what she called unspeakable atrocities. Throughout the debate, speakers condemned violations attributed to the Rapid Support Forces, called for accountability, and urged an immediate end to the conflict that continues to devastate the region.
Iran says the Strait of Hormuz remains under its control, rejecting U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim of “total control” over t...
One person has been killed and six others injured after an explosion at a petroleum storage facility at the Port of Rotterdam, prompting an investi...
The suspension of two major grain terminals in Russia’s Black Sea port of Novorossiysk could increase pressure on Kazakhstan’s agricult...
Disruption in the Strait of Hormuz has increased the strategic importance of Bab al-Mandab, raising fears that instability in both waterways could trigger a wider global energy and trade crisis.
Flights at Catania airport in Sicily will remain suspended until early Friday as ash from Mount Etna continues to disrupt air travel, following hundreds of cancellations and diversions over the past week.
Iran says the Strait of Hormuz remains under its control, rejecting U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim of “total control” over the strategic waterway and insisting it will not reopen until Washington fulfils its commitments under an interim deal.
Iran and the United States remain at loggerheads over efforts to agree a permanent end to the war in the Gulf, according to a senior Iranian source who said there had been no progress in talks to revive the interim deal agreed in June and define a timeframe to implement it.
Russia has accused Ukraine of threatening global grain supplies after recent strikes on Black Sea agricultural infrastructure, while Moscow carried out a new overnight attack on Ukraine’s major Danube port of Izmail.
One person has been killed and six others injured after an explosion at a petroleum storage facility at the Port of Rotterdam, prompting an investigation into the cause.
Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas met Türkiye’s President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Wednesday for talks focused on Gaza, Palestinian statehood and regional security.
Taiwan staged military defence drills on Wednesday as China concluded joint naval exercises with Indonesia in waters east of the island.
Washington’s counter-narcotics push is expanding as Colombia’s new conservative government backs deeper security cooperation.
Meta said it had removed more than 750,000 Facebook and Instagram accounts suspected of belonging to Australians under 16, as the country’s internet regulator weighs enforcement action over its teen social media ban.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment