The report paints a grim picture of the situation in Dafur. Photo/AFP-FILE.
NAIROBI, Kenya, June 11 – Amnesty International has reported a wave of government-sponsored crimes in Darfur, with complete or partial destruction of at least forty-five villages in the troubled region in western Sudan.
In an advisory released on Tuesday, the rights group revealed that government forces and allied militia groups were committing rights violations in Darfur, including killings and sexual violence.
The agency warned against the withdrawal of a United Nations/African Union Mission in Darfur (UNAMID) ahead of a crucial vote on the mission’s future on June 27.
The mission has in the past scaled down forces in Darfur to focus on the protection of civilians in the Jebel Marra region of Darfur which was seen as the most vulnerable.
The United Nations and African Union are expected to withdraw more peace keeping forces in the region by June 2020 should the June 27 vote approve the plan.
Amnesty International warned the withdrawal of UN and AU forces could jeopardize the safety of civilians given that the ruling Transitional Military Council (TMC) has deployed the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the region, a force linked to an infamous Arab ethnic nationalist Janjaweed militia blamed for rights violations during the 2003-2004 Darfur conflict.
“In Darfur, as in Khartoum, we’ve witnessed the RSF’s despicable brutality against Sudanese civilians – the only difference being, in Darfur they have committed atrocities with impunity for years,” Kumi Naidoo, Secretary General of Amnesty International, said.
“Sudan’s TMC must immediately withdraw the RSF from any policing and law enforcement operations, especially in Khartoum and Darfur, and confine them to their barracks in the interests of public safety,” he noted.
The RSF has been blamed for a number of deadly clashes that have resulted in civilian casualties as pro-democracy protesters demand the constitution of a civilian authority to govern the country.
Over 100 civilians were reported dead on Wednesday and forty bodies recovered in the Nile River after the military forcefully broke a sit-in by protesters demanding for the formation of a civilian government.
Protesters drawn from the Sudanese Professionals Association and the Alliance for Freedom and Change continued camping outside military headquarters in Khartoum even after the ouster of President Omar al-Bashir on April 11 following months of protests triggered by the increase in the price of basic commodities in December 2018.
The Amnesty International report called for the protection of protesters terming the UNAMID’s planned withdrawal ill-conceived.
“The logic behind the drawdown was premised on the idea that peacekeepers should withdraw once conditions on the ground had sufficiently improved. This arguably made sense in certain parts of Darfur, but it is not the case in Jebel Marra. Perversely, the UN is using its own failure to document the violence in Jebel Marra as the basis for it argument that the mission should close.”
Ethiopia Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed visited Khartoum last week Friday meeting the TMC head Lt. Gen. Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and protest leaders separately.
He called for renewed efforts towards the restoration of democracy.
“The army, the people and political forces have to act with courage and responsibility by taking quick steps towards a democratic and consensual transitional period,” the PM urged.
Ahmed followed up talks for the revitalization of talks between warring parties on Monday; his office reporting that he had a phone conversation with al-Burhan on “pressing issues”.
“PM Abiy spoke on the phone with Sudan’s TMC Head, Abdel Fattah Burhan, on mediation progress to bring peace and stability to Sudan. Their discussion highlighted the way forward on currently pressing issues. Both expressed hope that the current situation will be positively remedied,” his office tweeted.
The military council unilaterally ended talks with protest leaders last week after the military ruler announced that it had revised a commitment to a three-year transitional arrangement that would culminate with an election for a civilian government.
Al-Burhan instead announced that fresh polls will be conducted within three months under regional and international supervision.
Two prominent protest leaders were also arrested and reportedly deported to South Sudan.
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