On the 26th of September, Sudan’s army undertook its largest operation yet to reclaim capital territory since the onset of the conflict with the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), now marking one year and five months.
In September alone, there has been an escalation in the fight for control of El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state in western Sudan. The RSF has been trying to advance from positions surrounding the city against the army.
The United Nations (UN) human rights office has documented summary executions, sexual and gender-based violence, and abductions in El Fasher, along with a rise in civilian casualties. The UN Security Council Secretary-General has called for an end to the siege of El Fasher, home to more than 1.8 million people.
The Guardian’s Andrew Mitchell has said that “with more than a million lives at risk in Sudan, the UN must make a decisive intervention. If not now, when?”
Mitchell also claims the Middle East and Ukrainian crisis will overpower the UN meeting. However, the Sudanese issue must be addressed and not ignored. The meeting is essential to ensure the operation of the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) framework to protect populations from destruction.
The lives of more than a million people are at risk, and the atrocities of the war need to be confronted.
