MORE than 1,000 civilians died in the Zamzam camp in Sudan in April. They were killed during an attack by paramilitaries who were fighting against the government.
Image - seneweb
The number of deaths is very high.
The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, months after the event, blamed a large attack by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).
In a report from Geneva, published on Thursday, December 18, the High Commissioner condemned the "massacres, rapes and other sexual violence, acts of torture and abductions" that happened during the attack on the camp, which took place from April 11 to 13 by the RSF.
The organization said "at least 1,013 civilians were killed" in the attack.
Summary executions, systematic rapes, even acts of genocide...
Among the victims, "319 were shot on the spot, either in the camp or while trying to escape.
Some were killed in their homes during raids by the RSF, others in the main market, schools, health centers, and mosques," the Office of the High Commissioner said. At the time of the attack, about 400,000 civilians tried to flee the camp.
According to the High Commissioner, at least 104 people, including 75 women, 26 girls and 3 boys, also "experienced terrible sexual violence, including rape and gang rape, as well as sexual slavery, both during the attack on the camp and along escape routes" between April 11 and May 20.
Many analysts say these rapes are systematic and used as a weapon of war and ethnic cleansing against the Black population in the area.
The report states that the FSR did this "to instill fear within the community," explaining that in the months before the attack, the FSR had "blocked the delivery of all food, water, fuel, and other essential supplies for the survival of the camp's population."
The UN organization calls these acts "serious and systematic violations of international humanitarian law and blatant breaches of international human rights law."
The report also highlights "once again the urgent need to act quickly to end this cycle of atrocities and violence, and to make sure those responsible are held accountable and that victims receive justice," according to High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, quoted in a statement.
Zamzam is one of three large camps near El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, which was captured by the RSF at the end of October.
It was home to up to one million people before this RSF attack, which has been at war with the army since April 2023.
For several decades, Sudan has been involved in a civil war in Darfur, a region in western Sudan.
This conflict is due to the country's low level of development, worsened by climate change and drought, as well as a growing population that is hard to manage. Various ethnic groups live in the country, including Arab groups like the Fur, Zaghawa, and Masalit, who are often represented by the Janjaweed and other Black tribes. However, it's not just a racial conflict, Sudan is suffering because of its flawed unification.