Over a Hundred Killed as RSF Launches a Deadly Military Escalation

Last weekend, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) escalated violence against civilians across Darfur and Kordofan, resulting in a devastating loss of life, property, and livestock. The initial violence began a week prior with the deliberate destruction of natural resources belonging to Beni Halba herders. Subsequent tensions escalated rapidly with the start of the Eid al-Adha Holiday and continued throughout the weekend. What was believed to be an incident of competing tribal interests developed into a violent battle involving the deployment of the RSF’s military technologies. As of June 2nd, more than 50 people have been killed, and many more are believed to be dead as a result of drone strikes alone. 

Kordofan is now subject to unpredictable outbreaks of violence, similar to those witnessed in Darfur. In the villages of El Marra, Umm Saadoun El Sharif, and El Rada in north Kordofan, Rapid Support Forces fighters launched an attack on Thursday, May 28, which initially left thirty civilians dead. An additional twenty-seven civilians went missing as a result of this attack, and their bodies were tragically discovered on Saturday. On Saturday, May 30, the RSF carried out a drone strike on two civilian vehicles, which tragically killed eight children and two women and injured others. Additional drone attacks and bombings were carried out by the RSF across North, South, and West Kordofan on Monday, June 1, and Tuesday, June 2. In Kabum, Darfur, twelve people were killed in a drone attack that struck a restaurant and a passenger vehicle. Subsequent attacks on Ardamata and Umm Dukhun killed at least a dozen people, including children. 

Sudanese citizens are suffering at the hands of the Rapid Support Forces and such atrocities are testament. The escalation from local disagreement to drone warfare strongly indicates the organized exploitation of tribal and civilian affairs. This exploitation actively undermines the promise of achieving a ceasefire and ending the ongoing genocide. The peace and security of Sudan and its citizens cannot be obtained if those in power continuously minimize the role of proxy involvement. The RSF and its foreign supporters must be brought to justice for their moral and criminal lapse. Over the span of these five days, international law was blatantly violated on multiple occasions, with the perpetrators facing no repercussions. Each strike was deliberately conducted on civilian areas and infrastructure with no military presence or means of defense. This disregard for civilian welfare is a stark demonstration of the local and international communities’ failure to protect human life in Sudan. 

We call on the Sudanese authorities, Joint Force of the Seven Tribes, United States, United Nations, and the greater humanitarian community to engage in our calls to action to achieve justice and security for the people of Sudan:

• • The US and the UNSC must press the RSF leadership and all relevant actors to immediately cease attacks on civilians, launch an urgent, transparent, and public investigation to identify those responsible, and ensure their immediate accountability.
  • The UNSC must establish an effective civilian protection system in South Darfur; we request that the UN also begin a fact-finding investigation into the heavy, technological artillery being weaponized against civilian infrastructure.
  • The UN should deploy all necessary peacekeeping forces to defend civilians against mass atrocities on the ground. 
  • The US must continue to lead diplomatic negotiations between parties; a ceasefire must be enacted in South Darfur, North Kordofan, South Kordofan, and West Kordofan for civilian protection. 
  • The US and UN must impose criminal and economic sanctions on those responsible for the recent war crimes in Darfur and Kordofan, including the UAE, which has backed the RSF’s agenda in Sudan.
  • We urge all relevant UN agencies and humanitarian NGOs to provide urgent humanitarian aid, including necessary healthcare for victims on the ground.
  • We call on the UN Fact-Finding Mission to document and publicize the atrocities and war crimes committed; to ensure justice for the victims and accountability for those responsible. 
  • Warring parties must be made aware of the repercussions for committing heinous war crimes such as deliberate starvation, torture, and rape.

DWAG commends the courage of local communities and individuals who have responded to the need for non-violence and neutrality with urgency. We encourage their commitment to non-violence and civilian protection efforts. We call on our supporters to stand with us, speak out, and demand that justice be delivered in Sudan. We must use any means necessary to ensure the Rapid Support Forces and those responsible for bloodshed are held accountable. We cannot allow the citizens of Sudan to be slaughtered in silence whilst their perpetrators remain unpunished. We call on all DWAG supporters to speak out and use your platform to condemn the horrific acts of violence against our communities. Through collective voice and action, we can end the suffering, stop the genocide, and bring those responsible to justice.

For inquiries, please contact: policy@darfurwomenaction.org

For more resources and to find ways in which you can help, go to: www.darfurwomenaction.org

About DWAG

Darfur Women Action Group (DWAG) is a women-led anti-atrocities nonprofit with a 501(c)(3) status, founded in 2009 by a Darfur genocide survivor to empower and amplify voices of women and the conflict-affected and historically excluded communities in Sudan and the United States of America (USA) to enable them to champion their causes and work collectively to foster sustainable social change.