September 26, 2024 (PORT SUDAN) – The United Nations on Tuesday condemned what it called “horrible” crimes committed by Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the Al Jazeera region of central Sudan and called for an immediate end to the violence amid escalating violence. calls on civilians to take up arms.

RSF is accused of carrying out retaliatory attacks in Eastern Al Jazeera for five consecutive days after the escape of local commander Abu Akila Kikil. Violence, according to reports from residents and human rights groups; They include murders, abductions, forced displacements and acts of humiliation.

“These are terrible crimes,” Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the UN resident coordinator in Sudan, said in a statement, citing reports of rape, targeted attacks, sexual violence and mass murder.

Ms Nkweta-Salami said RSF fighters attacked villages in Eastern Al Jazeera between 20 and 25 October, shooting civilians, committing acts of sexual violence against women and girls, looting homes and markets and setting fire to farmland.

According to local sources, RSF demanded the residents of Al-Hilaliya village to hand over the relatives of the escaped commander, even though they had left the village.

The Al Jazeera Conference, a civilian group that monitors human rights violations, reported that at least 124 people have been killed and more than 200 injured by RSF in recent days.

In response to the escalating violence, Al Jazeera Governor Tahir Ibrahim issued a statement calling for the general mobilization of all those who can bear arms “in every city, village and neighbourhood” to counter the RSF.

Sudan’s army leader, Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, also vowed on Wednesday to arm the people of Eastern Al Jazeera.

But Emergency Lawyers, a Sudanese legal rights group, criticized the move, saying arming civilians would increase their vulnerability and risk further tensions and divisions.

Sudan’s National Human Rights Commission condemned RSF’s actions and described the violence in Eastern Al Jazeera as “grave human rights violations, including crimes against humanity, ethnic cleansing and forced displacement.”

Political and human rights groups called for an immediate end to the violence and the protection of civilians.