More than a year ago, fighting between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary group Rapid Support Forces (RSF) began in the country. The United Nations also previously warned that there may be war crimes in Sudan. Tens of thousands have been killed and more than 8 million people have fled.
From late April to early November last year, the RSF and allied militias “conducted a systematic campaign to remove ethnic Massalit, including by killing them,” HRW said. The violence, including mass torture, rape and looting, peaked in mid-June when thousands of people were killed within days.
In the town of El-Geneina in Darfur, where between 10,000 and 15,000 people have been killed since April last year, HRW found that neighborhoods of the Massalit “have been systematically dismantled, often with bulldozers, preventing civilians who have fled from returning to their homes.” . HRW recognizes “ethnic cleansing” in this because the attacks are aimed at causing the population groups to “permanently leave the region”.
HRW calls for an investigation into possible genocidal targeted sanctions against those responsible and urges the UN to extend the arms embargo on Darfur to all of Sudan.
