Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have allegedly committed numerous crimes against humanity during their siege of the city of el-Fasher in Darfur, UN investigators say.
The report by the UN Fact-Finding Mission accuses the group of murder, torture, enslavement, rape, sexual slavery, sexual violence, forced displacement and persecution on ethnic, gender and political grounds.
It also cited broader evidence of alleged war crimes by both the RSF and the regular army, however both sides have previously denied any wrongdoing in the country's ongoing civil war.
The UN report said the two groups targeted civilians in numerous ways and as deliberate strategies.
Both sides have deliberately targeted civilians through attacks, summary executions, arbitrary detention, torture, and inhuman treatment in detention facilities, including denial of food, sanitation, and medical care, said Fact-Finding Mission chair, Mohamed Chande Othman.
Highlighting the RSF's actions in el-Fasher, the report accused the group of using starvation as a method of warfare that might amount to the crime of extermination.
The RSF stormed the Zamzam camp near el-Fasher, forcing tens of thousands of people to flee their homes once more. The situation in the camp was already so dire that famine had been declared.
The US has accused the RSF of committing genocide against Darfur's non-Arabic population. The paramilitary group has denied responsibility and blames local militias for the violence.
The report, titled A War of Atrocities called on the international community to enforce an arms embargo and set up an independent judicial process to ensure justice for the victims. Our findings leave no room for doubt: civilians are paying the highest price in this war, Mr. Othman added.
