At least 40 people in Sudan have been killed in a drone strike that targeted a funeral that was taking place outside the army-held city of el-Obeid in North Kordofan state, officials and activists say. They blamed the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) for Monday's attack on al-Luweib village as mourners had gathered in a tent. The RSF has not yet commented. Many reportedly died before getting to hospital in el-Obeid, a strategic city that connects the capital, Khartoum, to the western region of Darfur. Fighting has intensified in this oil-rich Kordofan area and around 20,000 people fled to el-Obeid last week after the RSF captured Bara town, 30km (18 miles) north of the city.
The town fell at the same time as the city of el-Fasher, which had been the army's last stronghold in Darfur. There have since been reports of mass killings, sexual violence, abductions, and widespread looting in el-Fasher by RSF fighters. The UN said summary executions of civilians by RSF fighters had also been reported in Bara.
Such atrocities could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has warned. The RSF leader has promised to investigate violations but his paramilitary group has denied widespread allegations that the killings in el-Fasher are ethnically motivated and follow a pattern of the Arab paramilitaries targeting non-Arab populations. The ICC's statement came as a global group of food security experts confirmed on Monday that el-Fasher residents were suffering from famine following the RSF's 18-month siege of the city. The UN-accredited Integrated Food Security Phase network (IPC) also said the city of Kadugli in South Kordofan state was in the most catastrophic stage of hunger. UN chief António Guterres has called for an immediate halt to the violence in Sudan, warning that the humanitarian crisis is rapidly worsening. The horrifying crisis in Sudan... is spiralling out of control, he said on the sidelines of a summit in Doha. Guterres urged the army and the RSF to come to the negotiating table and bring an end to this nightmare of violence. A Sudanese government source has told AFP that the authorities are considering a US proposal for a truce. Washington - along with other states - has been pushing for a ceasefire and a roadmap to end the conflict.
The town fell at the same time as the city of el-Fasher, which had been the army's last stronghold in Darfur. There have since been reports of mass killings, sexual violence, abductions, and widespread looting in el-Fasher by RSF fighters. The UN said summary executions of civilians by RSF fighters had also been reported in Bara.
Such atrocities could amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has warned. The RSF leader has promised to investigate violations but his paramilitary group has denied widespread allegations that the killings in el-Fasher are ethnically motivated and follow a pattern of the Arab paramilitaries targeting non-Arab populations. The ICC's statement came as a global group of food security experts confirmed on Monday that el-Fasher residents were suffering from famine following the RSF's 18-month siege of the city. The UN-accredited Integrated Food Security Phase network (IPC) also said the city of Kadugli in South Kordofan state was in the most catastrophic stage of hunger. UN chief António Guterres has called for an immediate halt to the violence in Sudan, warning that the humanitarian crisis is rapidly worsening. The horrifying crisis in Sudan... is spiralling out of control, he said on the sidelines of a summit in Doha. Guterres urged the army and the RSF to come to the negotiating table and bring an end to this nightmare of violence. A Sudanese government source has told AFP that the authorities are considering a US proposal for a truce. Washington - along with other states - has been pushing for a ceasefire and a roadmap to end the conflict.
