Amnesty International (AI) released a report Thursday documenting alleged war crimes being committed in Sudan during the ongoing conflict between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).
The report details how the spiraling conflict in Sudan has resulted in the deaths and grievous injury of thousands of civilians since fighting broke out in April, through both indiscriminate and targeted violence. In addition to the numerous civilians being caught in the crossfire, AI notes that “fighters, notably from the RSF, have frequently been situating themselves in, and launching attacks from, densely populated residential areas, including in and around private homes and public buildings.” Eyewitness accounts also describe incidents in which civilians were deliberately killed or injured in targeted attacks, predominantly perpetrated by armed RSF members and allied militias. The report calls on both sides to “urgently take greater precautions to protect civilians.” The report concludes that:
[B]oth the SAF and the RSF have shown utter disregard for the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law, which forbid the deliberate targeting of civilians; and prohibit attacks which fail to distinguish between civilians and combatants and between civilian and military objects.
In its recommendations, AI calls on “regional and international powers, notably members of the UN Security Council and UN Human Rights Council as well as state parties to the ICC, to take concrete measures to respond to the scale and urgency of the Sudan conflict.”
The report mirrors previous warnings from international organizations regarding widespread sexual violence, massive population displacement and rampant human rights abuses.