The International Criminal Court (ICC) Attorney General’s Office has warned that mass killings, rapes and other crimes committed during the Rapid Reaction Force (RRF) attacks in the Sudanese town of Fasher may amount to “war crimes” or “crimes against humanity.”
A written statement from the ICC Attorney General’s Office notes its deep concern over the latest reports from Fasher and states that during The RRF attacks may have committed “war crimes” or “crimes against humanity.”
The statement emphasizes that these RRF attacks have affected the entire Darfur region and are part of a wider wave of violence that has continued since April 2023, and uses the following language: “The Office of the Attorney General recalls that, in accordance with resolution 1593 (2005) that the ICC has jurisdiction over crimes committed during the ongoing conflict in Darfur.”
The Office of the Attorney General has been investigating crimes committed in Darfur since the outbreak of the conflict in April 2023 and that, as reflected in the latest report submitted to the UN Security Council, the Office of the Attorney General is undertaking intensive work, including repeated field missions, deepening cooperation with victims’ groups and civil society, and developing cooperation with national authorities and international organizations.
As part of the ongoing investigation, the Prosecutor General’s Office has taken urgent steps to preserve and collect relevant evidence for use in future trials of alleged crimes in Fasheer.
The Prosecutor General’s Office has called on anyone with information or evidence related to the events in Fasheer to present it to the court.
Conflicts in Sudan and violations by the RRF
From 15 April 2023, Sudan experiences violent clashes between the army and the foreign-backed RRF.
Fashir, the largest city in the western part of the country, Darfur, largely came under the control of the RRF after violent clashes.
In a city from which tens of thousands of people fled as a result of the clashes, the RRF forcibly evicted civilians, killed and tortured many unarmed people, which was captured on video published by members of the RBU.