Sudan briefs UN experts on violations of Rapid Support Forces

KHARTOUM, Sudan

Sudan informed a team of experts from the UN Security Council on Sunday of violations committed against civilians by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in several states across the country.

The move took place during a meeting between the National Coordinator for the Implementation of Resolution 1591 and the Security Council expert team in the Port Sudan region, according to a statement by Sudan’s Sovereignty Council.

The statement noted that the Sudanese coordinator provided the experts with an overview of the violations and assaults committed by the RSF against civilians in Darfur and other states.

“The expert group was briefed on the current situation in the country and Sudan's efforts toward achieving peace,” said Lieut. Gen. (retd) Ezz El-Din Osman Taha, the head of the national coordinator.

Taha welcomed the UN Security Council expert team's visit and affirmed Sudan’s readiness to provide all necessary support for its mission according to its mandate.

He highlighted that this visit is the first by the expert team since the conflict erupted.

The three-day visit will include meetings with several national agencies involved in implementing the resolution.

In September, the UN Security Council extended sanctions imposed on Sudan since 2005 for another year.

The decision includes an arms embargo on the country, a travel ban on specific individuals and entities and a freeze on assets effective until Sept. 12, 2025.

The UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1591 on March 29, 2005, imposing an arms embargo and sanctions on certain individuals and entities involved in the Darfur conflict.

Since mid-April 2023, the Sudanese Armed Forces led by Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the Rapid Support Forces led by Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo have been engaged in a war that has resulted in over 20,000 deaths and nearly 13 million displaced people and refugees, according to the UN and local authorities.

There are growing international and UN calls to end the war and avert a humanitarian catastrophe that has driven millions toward famine and death due to food shortages caused by the fighting, which has spread to 13 of Sudan's 18 states.

*Writing by Alperen Aktas from Istanbul