SIHA Network is calling for an immediate stop to the escalating violence against civilians in El Fasher

The Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA) Network expresses grave concern at the escalating violence and suffering in El Fasher, North Darfur, and the ongoing mass atrocity and threat of genocide in the region.

We further condemn the random artillery shelling of civilians on October 1, 2024, by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on markets and displaced people shelters, killing over 100 civilians and injuring more than 150 people. On the same day, SIHA staff on the ground confirmed that the RSF had entered some homes within the town, including the house of Khater Adam Abdallah, where they killed his wife and injured 2 of his daughters.

On September 22, 2024, the RSF abducted an unknown number of displaced women, some pregnant, and girls from the Al Sharqiya School for Boys shelter. Their whereabouts remain unknown, and there are serious concerns that they have been subjected to conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) and killings.

On September 28, 2024, the RSF also bombarded El Fasher livestock market, leading to the killing of 62 people, according to a source at the Saudi hospital, and injured more than 100 civilians The situation in El Fasher is beyond dire: the city is currently surrounded and under siege by the RSF, with blockages in the delivery of humanitarian aid contributing to food insecurity affecting the local population. Hospitals have been destroyed by aerial bombardment, including the use of barrel bombs, by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) in neighbouring villages and cities within North Darfur.

Civilians have nowhere to go, and the situation is compounded by pre-existent displacement layered with the current displacement of over two million people by the extension of hostilities in El Fasher and surrounding areas, the majority of which are women and children. One survivor stated that “I can’t sleep, I can’t feel normal. When I am walking outside, I keep getting lost. I can’t find my way when I try to go anywhere”. Key protections and guarantees for women, children and civilians must be assured, for a more stable security situation to be realised in the current circumstances.

Emergency Response Rooms local activists and volunteers have had their members killed during the delivery of aid, subjected to arbitrary arrest and detention by the multiple warring parties.

Markets in El Fasher have been subject to heavy shelling, limiting access to purchase goods. El Fasher had previously been a lifeline for hundreds of thousands of Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) and residents for medical care. Still, the collapse of hospitals has impeded women’s access to medical services for harm caused by sexual violence. This has caused the deaths of pregnant women and children. The humanitarian situation has also led to instances of exploitation, with women forced to engage in “survival sex” in order to access food and essential goods. Forced marriages of young women have also been documented, with families resorting to giving away their daughters in exchange for food or money in order to escape starvation and the destruction of livelihoods.

Humanitarian organisations should be enabled to provide targeted services to survivors of CRSV and women IDPs, including the provision of “dignity kits” and specialised medical services for CRSV.

SIHA echoes statements by Alice Nderitu, the UN Special Advisor on the Prevention of Genocide, that “it is unquestionable that risk factors and indicators for genocide and related crimes are present in El Fasher”.

It is noteworthy to mention that the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan has flagged reasonable grounds to believe that the current degree of CRSV has ascended to the level of war crimes and crimes against humanity. CRSV is being used as a tactic of war and weaponizes women’s bodies to cause mass displacement. These acts violate international and regional human rights and humanitarian laws.

The current threat of CRSV is massive, and there have been similar patterns of violence in other Darfuri cities, such as El Geneina. CRSV is the focus of the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACHPR) and African Union (AU) Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security Joint Fact-Finding Mission established in August 2024. SIHA believes that the actual number of women impacted by CRSV is much larger than what has been documented, owing to blockages in reporting and stigma and intimidation of reporting rape.

In response to the situation depicted above, SIHA strongly condemns the ongoing violence and atrocities against civilians happening in El Fasher and across Sudan and urges international and regional actors, particularly the United Nations and the African Union, to take the following actions:

1. Make clear decisions and take serious steps to urgently ensure the protection of civilians in El Fasher, North Darfur and the rest of Sudan. Protection is critical in enabling access to humanitarian aid, health services, and sexual and reproductive health services for the local populations and IDPs.
   
   
2. Pursue accountability and justice for the perpetrators of violence and atrocities against civilians in Darfur and across Sudan.
   
   
3. Exert pressure on the parties involved to cease hostilities, and accept international protection of civilians, and take achievable steps to ensure the functionality of these efforts.
   
   
4. Continue supporting grassroots communities and civil society by enhancing their capacity and investing in protecting frontline volunteers and humanitarian workers