In the shadow of the fighting in Ukraine and Gaza, Sudan’s brutal civil war has for months spread to the western region of Darfur, where atrocities 20 years ago were deeply imprinted on the international community’s radar.
Now global attention is beginning to focus on the siege of cities in Darfur, where chaotic violence has raised fears of another ethnic massacre or even genocide.
Here’s what we know.
Risk of genocide
Perhaps the battle for El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, made the war impossible to ignore. The United Nations Security Council voted almost unanimously to end the siege of El Fasher.
As hostile forces close in on one of Darfur’s largest cities, Satellite and video imagery analysis Thousands of homes were razed and tens of thousands of people were forced to flee, according to The New York Times.
The fighters were members of a paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces, and given their history — they were the heirs to the Janjaweed militia that had brutalized civilians — and their record of massacres in another city last fall, many feared the worst.
If the city is captured, what started as a military conflict could turn into a genocide similar to the violence experienced in Darfur in the early 21st century, when Arab militias launched attacks on people of African descent, a genocide that the United Nations estimates killed 300,000 people.
“The situation today has all the hallmarks of a genocide risk,” said Alice Wairimu Nderitu, the UN’s top genocide prevention official.
shortage of food
The militants, who are engaged in a fierce civil war with Sudanese government forces and have seized control of key roads, have largely cut off food supplies – and not just in El Fasher, where food distribution centres are already suffering from famine. Doctors said a child recently died every two hours from malnutrition in one displaced persons camp.
Medical care is also in short supply, with hospitals forced to close due to looting by militants.
Safe havens are scarce
Fearing violence, many residents walked 180 miles in search of safety.
But the journey is treacherous. Temperatures can reach as high as 120 degrees Fahrenheit, or 49 degrees Celsius. Many women report being sexually assaulted along the way. And even when people reach their destinations, they often find that food and medicine are in short supply.
A doctor in East Darfur said it was “heartbreaking” to see the refugees arrive.
The International Criminal Court is watching
The International Criminal Court, which brought charges against Sudanese officials following a genocide in Sudan two decades ago, said it was watching closely to determine the current situation.
The tribunal, based in The Hague and established in 2002 under the Rome Statute, an international treaty ratified by 124 countries, has issued the call for evidence of atrocities.
Some RSF fighters made the job easier. Rather than trying to cover up the razing of homes and the abuse of civilians, they documented it.
They then posted the video on social media.
