Sudan's Prime Minister Kamel Idris Calls for Immediate International Intervention

SadaNews - Sudanese Prime Minister Kamel Idris has called on international organizations "to intervene immediately," while the governor of Darfur, Mini Minawi, urged for the protection of civilians in the city of El Fasher (the capital of North Darfur), after the Rapid Support Forces announced their control over the city, amidst allegations of committing crimes in the area.

The Sudanese Prime Minister stated, "International organizations must intervene immediately in light of reports regarding the actions of the Rapid Support Forces in El Fasher and Bara (in North Kordofan, which was taken over by the Rapid Support Forces on Saturday)."

He considered what is happening in El Fasher to constitute "war crimes and ethnic cleansing," praising "the resilience of the Sudanese armed forces on all fronts and their compliance with humanitarian law."

For his part, Minawi stated in a post on his X platform account that "the fall of the city of El Fasher does not mean sacrificing the future of Darfur for the benefit of violent groups or the interests of corruption and treachery," stressing that "every inch of Sudanese land will return to its people."

The Darfur governor called for "the protection of civilians, clarifying the fate of the displaced, and an independent investigation into the violations and massacres carried out by militias away from the public eye."

Targeting Civilians

The Sudanese Doctors Network accused the Rapid Support Forces of targeting dozens on ethnic grounds in El Fasher, stating in a press release on Monday that the forces committed a "horrific massacre" in El Fasher, where its fighters proceeded to "kill unarmed civilians on ethnic grounds in an act of ethnic cleansing," reporting dozens of victims amidst difficulties in accessing the affected areas.

The network accused the Rapid Support Forces of "looting hospitals, medical facilities, and pharmacies in the areas they stormed," expressing its condemnation of the "atrocious crimes committed by the Rapid Support Forces against unarmed civilians," emphasizing that "what is happening in El Fasher against civilians qualifies as mass killings," and calling on "the United Nations, the World Health Organization, and the entire international community to take immediate and effective action to stop the massacres, protect civilians, and hold the perpetrators accountable before international justice."

For its part, the El Fasher Resistance Committees Coordination (a relief committee) stated in a statement today that "innocents leaving El Fasher are subjected to the worst forms of violence and ethnic cleansing," considering that "silence or neutrality in the face of these violations only signifies complicity with the oppressors."

Meanwhile, U.S. President's Senior African Affairs Advisor, Masad Boulos, called on the Rapid Support Forces to take immediate action to protect civilians and prevent further suffering in El Fasher.

Boulos urged Rapid Support leaders to continue issuing clear orders to their troops and to announce them publicly to ensure the safety of civilians and humanitarian workers and relief operations.

He added that humanitarian corridors must be opened immediately to allow civilians to reach safe areas, stating that the world is watching with great concern the situation in El Fasher and the actions of the Rapid Support Forces.

The Rapid Support Forces announced yesterday, Sunday, that they had fully taken control of the city of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state in western Sudan.

However, the "popular resistance" in El Fasher – consisting of volunteers fighting alongside the army – confirmed in a statement that "the city still stands firm against the attacks of the Rapid Support Forces militia."

The statement described these forces as waging a misleading and blatant media campaign to instill panic and terror regarding their (alleged) entry into the headquarters of the sixth infantry division of the army, as if it meant the fall of El Fasher.

El Fasher is a critical center for humanitarian operations in the five states of the Darfur region and has been under siege imposed by the Rapid Support Forces since May 10, 2024, amidst international warnings about catastrophic implications for civilians.

Since the outbreak of war between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces on April 15, 2023, nearly 20,000 people have been killed, and more than 15 million have been displaced or fled, according to UN and local reports.

Source: Agencies