Surveillance and detentions rife in city
With limited humanitarian aid, risks of child malnutrition remain high
“A pervasive pall of fear hangs over El Fasher today” –
Agnès Callamard
Civilians in El Fasher in North Darfur, Sudan, are still suffering detention, torture and limited access to humanitarian aid one year after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) captured the city and committed brutalities against civilians, Amnesty International said today.
In new testimony, residents who recently escaped the city told Amnesty International how schools had been turned into detention centres, how their movement was strictly controlled, and that unlawful killings were rife.
According to figures gathered by humanitarian organizations working in the city, fewer than 70,000 people are present in El Fasher, compared to its pre-war population of more than one million. Humanitarian access remains limited, and humanitarian workers and other civilians in the city are constantly surveilled or monitored. Arbitrary detention risks, for both civilians and humanitarian workers, remain extremely high.
A pervasive pall of fear hangs over El Fasher today
Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General
“The RSF’s claims that El Fasher is safe for civilians to return to after the horrific massacres that took place one year ago could not be further from the truth,” said Agnès Callamard, Amnesty International’s Secretary General.
“A pervasive pall of fear hangs over El Fasher today. Men and women live under constant RSF surveillance, and with the ongoing threat of detention, torture and killing.
“One year since El Fasher fell to the RSF, the international community has failed to take the necessary actions to address the desperate plight civilians face as the conflict rages. There has been little accountability for abuses in North Darfur. The moves towards a ceasefire have been half-hearted, and Amnesty International is not aware of any diplomatic attempts to est
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