Condemnations for Rapid Support Forces Crimes in El Fasher and Calls in America to Classify Them as "Terrorist Organization"

SadaNews - The World Health Organization expressed its shock at the death of more than 460 people in the only hospital in El Fasher, western Sudan, while members of the U.S. Senate called for classifying the Rapid Support Forces as a terrorist organization following their crimes in El Fasher, which they took over a few days ago.

The Director-General of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, stated in a press release that the organization is "deeply distressed and shocked by reports of the deaths of more than 460 patients and their companions at the Saudi Hospital for Obstetrics in El Fasher, Sudan, due to recent attacks and the kidnapping of health workers."

The organization reported that the Saudi Hospital for Obstetrics is the only hospital partially operational in the city, adding that it was attacked last Sunday "for the fourth time this month," resulting in the death of one nurse and the injury of three other health workers.

It noted that six health workers, four doctors, a nurse, and a pharmacist were kidnapped last Tuesday, and "on the same day, reports emerged of the deaths of more than 460 patients and their companions shot in the hospital."

The organization stated that "this latest tragedy occurs amidst a rapidly worsening crisis in the city of El Fasher, where escalating violence, siege conditions, and rising rates of hunger and disease are leading to the deaths of civilians, including children, and the collapse of the health system."

The organization indicated that malnutrition is increasing to severe levels, which weakens immunity and increases the likelihood of infections such as cholera, malaria, and other diseases.

Extermination and Purification

After establishing control over the city of El Fasher last Sunday, the Rapid Support Forces now control all of Darfur, a vast region in western Sudan that covers a third of the country's area.

Thus, the Rapid Support Forces, along with their allies, control western Sudan and parts of the south, while the Sudanese army controls areas in the north, east, and center of the country which have been embroiled in war for more than two years.

The Sudan Doctors Union declared that 177,000 people are still trapped in the city of El Fasher, emphasizing that the events occurring there are acts that "represent genocide and systematic ethnic cleansing and constitute complete war crimes."

The union explained that reports from its field teams indicate that the number of victims in El Fasher is estimated in the thousands, given the difficulty of communication and the lack of security, adding, "2,000 civilians were killed in the early hours of the Rapid Support Forces entering El Fasher, and innocents were executed by being burned alive, while it is estimated that 177,000 civilians are still trapped and it is believed that the majority have been subjected to mass killings and those who tried to escape were burned alive inside their cars."

The statement revealed that widespread violations have been documented in El Fasher, including field executions, home invasions, and sexual violence, with victims being forced to dig their own graves and bury themselves alive.

In a previous interview with Al Jazeera, Adam Rajal, the spokesperson for the General Coordination for Displaced Persons and Refugees in Darfur, described what is happening in Darfur currently as the largest disaster of its kind in the region in modern times, calling for a humanitarian ceasefire and the opening of humanitarian corridors with the intervention of the United Nations and the international community.

Demands from Washington

In Washington, Republican and Democratic senators called for a strong response from the Trump administration following the recent developments in El Fasher.

Senator Jim Risch, the Republican chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, demanded that the United States officially classify the Rapid Support Forces as a foreign terrorist organization, stating in a post on X, "The atrocities that took place in El Fasher were not accidental but were part of the Rapid Support Forces’ plan from the beginning. The Rapid Support Forces practice terrorism and commit unspeakable atrocities, including genocide against the Sudanese people."

Senator Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire, a leading Democratic member of the committee, expressed that she would likely support such a response from Washington.

In January, the former Biden administration stated it had concluded that members of the Rapid Support Forces and their allied armed groups had committed genocide in Sudan and imposed sanctions on the leader of the Rapid Support Forces, Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemeti.

In response to the ongoing accusations against the Rapid Support Forces for committing massacres and violations, Hemeti acknowledged that there had been excesses by his forces in the city of El Fasher, announcing -in a televised speech yesterday- the formation of an investigative committee, stressing that he ordered his forces to leave El Fasher after removing obstacles for the police to take over security responsibilities there. He added that "the people of El Fasher will return to their city safely in a few days."

Hemeti announced the "immediate and complete allowance for civilian movement in El Fasher without obstacles," and called on humanitarian organizations to aid the city’s residents and others in Darfur and Kordofan.

Approximately 20,000 people have been killed, in addition to more than 15 million displaced, due to the ongoing war between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces since April 2023, according to UN and local reports.

Source: Agencies