At least 542 civilians have been killed in the Sudanese province of North Darfur in the last three weeks, but "the real number of victims is probably much higher", said today the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk, quoted by Agence France-Presse and BTA.
"The horror of what is happening in Sudan knows no bounds. "Just three days ago, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) launched coordinated attacks from several directions against the besieged town of El Fasher and the Abu Shouk camp, killing at least 40 civilians," Turk said in a statement.
The RSF, led by General Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, have been fighting the regular army under the command of General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan for two years, AFP recalls.
"Everything possible must be done to protect civilians who are in dire conditions in El Fasher and its surroundings," Turk urged. He also expressed concern over the SDF's warning that there would be a "bloodbath".
The conflict, which broke out on April 15, 2023, has already claimed the lives of tens of thousands of people and plunged the country into what the UN considers the world's worst humanitarian crisis today.
Turk also described as "extremely shocking" the summary executions of dozens of people in recent weeks in the region around the capital Khartoum, which has been taken over by the Sudanese armed forces.
"Horrifying videos circulated on social media show at least 30 men in civilian clothes being arrested and executed by armed men in SDF uniforms in As Salha, south of Omdurman. In a video released later, a SBP commander "confesses to the killings," the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights also said.
He recalled that a few weeks ago, dozens of people were executed for collaborating with the SBP.
"It is high time this conflict ended," Türk concluded.