UN leaders condemn Sudan mass killings

Diplomats and senior UN figures speaking at the UN Security Council have condemned mass killings by the Rapid Support Forces in El Fasher after the Sudanese city “descended into an even darker hell” following the paramilitary group’s takeover.

- Patrick Wintour

Widespread reports of ethnically targeted killings in recent days prompted the UK, as the UN pen-holder on Sudan, to call an emergency session of the security council in New York yesterday. “The situation is simply horrifying,” Martha Ama Akyaa Pobee, the assistant secretary general of the UN for Africa, told the meeting.

“In the past week, the UN human rights office has documented widespread and serious human rights violations in and around El Fasher.

“These include credible reports of mass killings in various locations and summary executions during house-to-house searches and as civilians have tried to flee the city.

“Communications have been cut off. The situation is chaotic. In this context, it is difficult to estimate the number of civilians killed. Despite commitments to protect civilians, the reality is that no one is safe in El Fasher. There is no safe passage for civilians to leave the city.”