Nearly 800 civilians killed in Sudan's North Darfur capital conflict: UN

Geneva, Dec 21 (IANS) The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) reported that the ongoing siege and hostilities in El Fasher, the capital city of North Darfur State in western Sudan, have left at least 782 civilians dead and more than 1,143 injured since May 2024.

According to the report, hostilities intensified significantly in June this year, with parties to the conflict engaging in heavy fighting in residential areas.

Civilians have been caught in the crossfire as homes were used for military purposes, and markets were attacked and looted. Many civilians lost their lives in their houses, markets, near hospitals, and on the streets, Xinhua news agency reported.

Thousands remain besieged in the city without guarantees of safe passage out, and at risk of death or injury from indiscriminate attacks by all parties to the conflict, the report said.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk also called for an immediate end to the siege of El Fasher in a statement issued on Friday.

Turk urged all parties to the conflict to cease attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure, adhere to international legal obligations, and called for immediate intervention by the international community to prevent further escalation.

The Sudanese army under General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, and the RSF, led by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, have been locked in conflict for more than 18 months. The war has triggered a profound humanitarian crisis in which more than 12 million people have been driven from their homes and UN agencies have struggled to deliver relief.

Sudan has been gripped by a devastating conflict between Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) since mid-April 2023, which resulted in more than 28,700 deaths and displaced over 14 million people, either inside or outside Sudan, according to the latest estimates by international organisations.

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