GENEVA (11 May 2023) – All parties to hostilities in Sudan must immediately end the fighting, cease targeting the civilian population and infrastructure and resume negotiations towards a civilian-led government, UN experts said today. Civilians are bearing the devastating brunt of hostilities between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces, the experts said, pointing to an unfolding humanitarian crisis and urging all parties to ensure unimpeded and inclusive access to life-saving assistance and humanitarian aid. They issued the following statement:
“It has been over three weeks since the eruption of fighting in Sudan between the Rapid Support Forces and the Sudanese Armed Forces.
Hundreds of civilians have been killed and thousands injured, including women and children, since the fighting began. The crisis has also resulted in hundreds of thousands of people being forcibly displaced from their homes in search of safety. Reports have indicated that civilians of all ages are experiencing various human rights abuses, including sexual assault and gender-based violence, as well as looting and shortages of food, water, healthcare, including reproductive healthcare, fuel and other basic goods and services, and collapse in communication channels. Densely populated residential areas of Khartoum, Bahri, Omdurman and towns in Darfur and North Kordofan are facing electricity cuts, a lack of healthcare and basic services, while running out of food, water and medicines. Some infrastructure and services, including 11 hospitals that have been attacked, have collapsed. We are alarmed that a shelter for girls with disabilities in Khartoum was shelled leading to the death of a girl and injuring another. A shelter for older women in Khartoum was reportedly also damaged.