ACJPS: Damning report documents North Darfur atrocities

A report from the African Centre for Justice and Peace Studies (ACJPS), dedicated to monitoring and promoting human rights and legal reform in Sudan, highlights the serious violence and humanitarian crisis in El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur. Since April 2024, the city has been under siege by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in an effort to gain control, resulting in significant destruction.

The report, published yesterday, documents at least 17 attacks in El Fasher between April 2023 and April 2024, displacing over 1,200 people and killing 451 civilians, including 61 children. The city’s infrastructure is in ruins, with damaged utilities crippling hospitals and schools.

A particularly chilling account describes the May 10, 2024 attack on the Tombasi neighbourhood in the El Sereif Beni Hussein locality and the assault on the El Weheda locality, which killed 24 civilians and injured 80 others. The violence has driven many young men from the Zaghawa tribe to join the Darfur Joint Protection Force.

In July and August 2024, the situation deteriorated sharply as RSF forces intensified their tactics, employing forced displacement and indiscriminate shelling. Thousands have lost their lives, nearly 90,000 people have been displaced, and several displacement camps have been destroyed.

The ACJPS report highlights severe impacts on health and education sectors, with several hospitals and schools destroyed. Humanitarian aid has been severely restricted, worsening the civilians’ suffering. The ACJPS calls for urgent international attention and action to address this crisis.

Read the full report here: THE SEIGE OF ELFASHIR: A STORY OF AN OLD CITY