- The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have seized large areas of the country, causing the civilian death toll to rise daily.
- The UAE continues to be the main backer of the RSF, propagating instability in the genocide-ravaged land.
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have killed 460 people at El Fasher hospital in Sudan, with another 260,000 believed to be trapped in the city, unable to flee due to RSF restrictions and fear.
The RSF continues its attempt to take over Sudan and reshape the country by deposing the Sudanese military-led government.
In its recent capture of El Fasher, the RSF has been responsible for at least 1,500 civilian deaths within the first few days, with North Kordofan now at imminent risk of falling under RSF control.
Nathaniel Raymond, executive director of the humanitarian research lab at Yale’s school of public health, told Al Jazeera on Tuesday that the RSF had “begun to dig mass graves to collect bodies throughout the city”.
Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General, said: “The world cannot continue to turn its back on civilians in Sudan, especially in the Kordofan region, when the grave dangers they face are clear for all to see. It is unconscionable to stand by as civilians are at risk of being killed by RSF fighters.
“There must be no repeat of the horrific bloodshed and atrocities we have seen in reports emerging from El Fasher in recent weeks.”
RSF soldiers have shown no reluctance to hide their atrocities from the public and have published numerous war crimes and atrocities on social media for the world to see, with RSF leaders and commanders also unafraid to hide genocidal rhetoric.
Emerging footage shows a commander of RSF militias recently instructing his troops: “I don’t want any prisoners—kill them all.”
https://twitter.com/clashreport/status/1985006782293459247
Who are the RSF?
The RSF is a paramilitary group that was loyal to Sudan’s former dictator Omar Al Bashir before his removal.
The group has existed as a paramilitary force since then, and up until April of 2023, they were subordinates to the military-led government in Sudan.
Talks for the RSF to integrate into the Sudanese army in 2023 failed, with the RSF disagreeing with the terms, leading it to mobilise forces around Khartoum, sparking full-blown conflict in Sudan.
The RSF traditionally were backed by Russia and Wagner, but now their primary backer is the UAE, which seeks to influence the shaping of Sudan and potentially gain financially.
An RSF intelligence officer said: “In the beginning, it was the Russians – Wagner and the state.
“Many of the planes landing at Nyala [in South Darfur] are said to bring weapons from the UAE, routed partly through Amdjarras Airport in Chad.
“It’s a financial relationship, no more,” he said. “The RSF controls areas with large gold mines – Darfur alone has more than four or five gold mines – the UAE is a gold trading hub.”
Although it is hard to pinpoint the UAE’s exact motivations and difficult to weigh which ones are more dominant, it must be recognised that the UAE is indeed helping to propagate one of the worst genocides in modern times.
