EU: ‘We cannot turn a blind eye’ to Darfur atrocities
Refugee children from Darfur in the Iridimi camp in eastern Chad (Photo: RD)
The European Union, Sudanese Journalists Syndicate (SJS), and Justice and Equality Movement (JEM) have condemned the alleged killing of over 1,000 people in the Ardamata neighbourhood of El Geneina, West Darfur, with the SJS and Masalit leaders demanding a transparent and independent investigation, as opposed to one led by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
The EU expressed its shock at the recent escalation of violence in Darfur. High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell said in a statement that “the latest atrocities are seemingly part of a wider ethnic cleansing campaign conducted by the RSF with the aim to eradicate the non-Arab Masalit community from West Darfur, and comes on top of the first wave of violence in June.”
He said that the EU is working with the International Criminal Court (ICC) and other international partners to monitor and document human rights violations in Sudan.
The international community “cannot turn a blind eye to what is happening in Darfur and allow another genocide to occur in this region,” he stressed, reiterating the EU’s condemnation of ongoing violence and reminding the warring parties that under international law they must protect civilians in Sudan.
“We cannot turn a blind eye to what is happening in Darfur and allow another genocide to occur in this region.”
Josep Borrell, High Representative of the European Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy and Vice-President of the European Commission
In a statement, the SJS reported that some of the victims of the massacre were killed inside a hospital while receiving treatment. According to their statement, over 700 people were killed between November 2 and 9. A Sudanese doctor who fled Ardamata to Chad on Thursday told Sudan Tribune that over 2,000 civilians were killed by the RSF and allied militias in the area between November 4 and 9.
The EU statement said that there were “credible eyewitness reports that more than 1,000 members of the Masalit community were killed in Ardamta in just over two days, during major attacks carried out by the RSF and its affiliated militias.”
SJS pointed out that some leaders of civil administrations and their families were targeted and killed inside their homes. “The killing did not even exclude the elderly or children,” noting the killing of a prominent West Darfur native administration leader, Farsha Mohamed Arbab, his son, and eight grandchildren on November 4.
The JEM faction led by Suleiman Sandal also condemned the crimes carried out by the RSF against civilians. They discussed with officials in the European Parliament the humanitarian situation in general and in Darfur in particular, according to JEM Vice President Jibril Adam Bilal.
The main focus of the discussion with officials is the humanitarian situation and discussions about a ceasefire through the Jeddah platform, said Bilal.
He explained that JEM is still communicating with the SAF and RSF, especially regarding the escalation of violence in El Fasher, capital of North Darfur. “Suleiman Sandal is leading the dialogue and is in contact with the two parties to calm the situation.”
“We told the European Parliament that the Jeddah platform, despite our support for it, needs to include civilians,” noting that there are political issues that must be discussed after agreeing on a ceasefire. They stressed the need for a ceasefire so that humanitarian relief teams can deliver aid to displaced people in Sudan.
According to Bilal, Gen Mohamed ‘Hemedti’ Dagalo, commander of the paramilitary RSF, has called for an investigation into the events in Ardamata. He allegedly stressed that the RSF would not protect any individual involved in any violations of the rights of innocent civilians.
“The RSF has selectively eliminated 14 civil leaders in Ardamata since last week.”
Farsha Mujeebelrahman Yagoub, Masalit tribe leader and Assistant Commissioner for Refugees in West Darfur
Farsha Mujeebelrahman Yagoub, a leader in the Masalit tribe and Assistant Commissioner for Refugees in West Darfur, told Radio Dabanga of his lack of confidence in the investigation committees formed by the RSF yesterday.
The RSF aims to evade punishment, said Yagoub, joining the SJS in calls for the formation of an independent international investigation committee. “The RSF has selectively eliminated 14 civil leaders in Ardamata since last week,” he said.
The syndicate also called on the international community to exert pressure on both sides of the war in Sudan, to immediately stop the fighting, allow the entry of humanitarian aid, and withdraw the military from civilian posts.
In a statement on Monday, more than ten days after the violence in Ardamata, the RSF accused Military Intelligence of assassinating Farsha Mohamed Arbab, Farsha Abdul Basit Suleiman, and Mayor Amin Suleiman, noting their presence inside the state.
The statement said that “Military Intelligence has been carrying out killings in West Darfur over the past years to fuel tribal strife and drive a wedge between the RSF and local communities.”
The statement claimed that the former Al Bashir regime sought to plunge the region into a cycle of tribal violence. “There is conclusive evidence proving their involvement in all the dirty deeds that take place,” it claimed.
The situation in El Geneina, and in particular Ardamata, a former camp for the displaced which has become a suburb of the West Darfur capital, is “extremely dangerous”, a man who fled the neighbourhood to eastern Chad told Radio Dabanga on Wednesday.
The refugee said that eight members of his family had been killed, and more than 20 relatives were missing. A large number of people in Ardamata were detained and taken to unknown destinations. “More than 20,000 people arrived here in Adré, Chad, with only the clothes they are wearing. Some of them even walked barefoot,” the source said.
Darfur Victims Support reported on X (formerly Twitter) that they had obtained graphic photos showing the RSF killing of dozens of civilians after they took control of the garrison of the 15th SAF Division on November 6. “The RSF committed these crimes,” they said.
“Frankly, we are running out of words to describe the horror of what is happening in Sudan,” said Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General and Humanitarian Coordinator of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid (OCHA) Clementine Nkweta-Salami on November 10.
“We continue to receive unrelenting and appalling reports of sexual and gender-based violence, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detentions, and grave violations of human and children’s rights. What is happening is verging on pure evil.”
and then