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New York, October 30 (QNA) - Members of the United Nations Security Council have condemned the Rapid Support Forces' (RSF) attack on the city of El Fasher in North Darfur, Sudan, and its devastating impact on civilians, expressing deep concern over the escalating violence in the city. In a press statement following their meeting Thursday, the Security Council members called on the RSF to lift the siege on El Fasher, in accordance with Resolution 2736, which calls for an immediate cessation of hostilities and de-escalation of tensions in and around the city. Council members also condemned the atrocities committed by the RSF against the civilian population, including summary executions and arbitrary detentions, urging accountability for all perpetrators of violations. During the session, members urged all parties to refrain from external interference aimed at fueling the conflict and instability, and to support efforts toward lasting peace and the implementation of relevant Security Council resolutions. Russia's Ambassador to the UN, Nebenzia Vassily, expressed concern over reports of widespread human rights violations, stressing that violence against civilians is unacceptable. He said the atrocities committed against the civilian population in El Fasher, and the images circulating online, are shocking, pointing to similar atrocities that previously occurred in Geneina and Al Jazira, Sudan. For her part, the US Ambassador to the United Nations Dorothy Shea said that the RSF and its allies have committed genocide, adding that their systematic killing of men and boys, even infants, and their deliberate targeting of women and children are ethnically motivated. She added that the United States condemns these heinous atrocities in the strongest possible terms, emphasizing the need to hold those responsible accountable, including through sanctions. Shea underscored that the Security Council must use all available tools to facilitate peace in Sudan, calling on the warring parties to cease hostilities, allow unhindered humanitarian access across the country, and protect civilians. China's Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Geng Shuang, reaffirmed the priority of achieving a ceasefire in Sudan, recalling Resolution 2736, which demands that the RSF lift its siege on El Fasher and calls on all sides to immediately halt hostilities and ensure the protection of civilians. He said his country strongly condemns the atrocities committed by the RSF and calls on it to immediately end all acts of violence and refrain from crossing the red lines of international humanitarian law. He urged all parties to put the interests of Sudan and its people first, heed the appeals of the international community, fully comply with Security Council resolutions, and bring about an immediate and complete cessation of hostilities. France's Ambassador to the UN, Jerome Bonnafont, strongly condemned the RSF's expanded and intensified attacks on El Fasher, saying that reports from the city evoke memories of the mass atrocities committed in Darfur 20 years ago. He also condemned the attack on the Saudi Maternity Hospital, where preliminary reports from the World Health Organization indicate around 460 deaths, stressing the need to hold those responsible accountable. Bonnafont reaffirmed that there is no military solution to the conflict in Sudan, urging all external actors to stop providing financial and military support to the warring parties and calling for strict adherence to the arms embargo on Darfur, which the Council unanimously renewed last December. For his part, UK Charge d'affairs at the UN James Kariuki said his country, along with Algeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Guyana, and Denmark, had called for this meeting to be brought forward from next month due to deep concern over the escalating violence in El Fasher and its dire consequences for civilians. Kariuki urged the RSF to fully comply with its obligations under international law to protect civilians and immediately cease all attacks on aid workers and civilian infrastructure. He also called on all parties to cooperate fully with the United Nations and other humanitarian organizations, lift movement restrictions, and provide security guarantees to enable unhindered access to El Fasher and surrounding areas. In a related context, Algeria's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Amar Bendjama, speaking on behalf of the three African members of the Council (Sierra Leone, Somalia, and Algeria) as well as Guyana, said that the scenario everyone feared and sought to prevent had become a horrifying reality following the Rapid Support Forces' (RSF) takeover of El Fasher. He added that this marked a dangerous step toward the fragmentation of Sudan. Bendjamaa referred to horrifying video footage showing acts of violence against civilians and reports indicating that 460 patients and their companions were killed by RSF forces in a maternity hospital. He stated that El Fasher cries out for justice and a strong response from the international community, stressing that the Security Council must not remain silent in the face of such atrocities and that the RSF must be held accountable for the violations and crimes it has committed. For his part, UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator Tom Fletcher said that El Fasher has descended into an even darker hell, with credible reports of mass executions following the entry of RSF fighters into the city. Fletcher added that the killings were not confined to Darfur, pointing to other incidents that occurred in several parts of Sudan, including the Kordofan region. He explained that the crisis in Sudan is, at its core, both a protection crisis and a hunger crisis. He warned that Sudanese children face particularly grave risks, with countless numbers forcibly recruited to kill one another, noting that nearly one in five civilians killed in El Fasher this month was a child. Fletcher called for immediate and decisive action to stop atrocities against civilians, ensure full and unhindered humanitarian access across Sudan, and provide greater funding for relief operations. In the same session, UN Assistant Secretary-General for Africa Martha Pobee said that the risk of mass atrocities, ethnically targeted violence, and further violations of international humanitarian law, including sexual violence, remains alarmingly high across the country, especially in El Fasher. Pobee confirmed that the Office of Human Rights had documented reports of mass killings and summary executions during house-to-house searches, and as civilians attempted to flee the city. She suggested that the Kordofan region could be the next military focus for the warring parties, citing reports of large-scale atrocities committed by the RSF in Bara, North Kordofan, following its recent capture, including reprisals against alleged collaborators, often ethnically motivated, and the summary execution of five Red Crescent volunteers. Pobee stressed the need for an immediate cessation of hostilities and sustained dialogue, warning that external support continues to fuel the conflict through the flow of weapons and fighters into Sudan, thereby worsening an already dire situation. She noted that the Security Council has not taken decisive action to prevent the deterioration of the situation, despite months of warnings about the unfolding catastrophe in El Fasher, urging the Council to use all tools at its disposal to demand peace in Sudan. (QNA)
