A senior United Nations official cautioned on Friday that violence against civilians in Sudan is “verging on pure evil,” highlighting the worsening humanitarian crisis and the escalating ethnic violence in the western region of Darfur.
On April 15, a conflict erupted between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) following weeks of escalating tension over a proposed integration of forces as part of the transition from military rule to civilian democracy.
“We continue to receive unrelenting and appalling reports of sexual- and gender-based violence and forced disappearance, arbitrary detentions and grave violations of human and children’s rights,” Clementine Nkweta-Salami, the top UN aid official in Sudan, told reporters.
“What is happening is verging on pure evil. The protection of civilians continues to be of major concern,” she said.
Nkweta-Salami stated that approximately 25 million people, which is more than half of the population, require humanitarian assistance and protection. Additionally, over six million individuals have been displaced, either within Sudan or in neighboring countries.
“We have recently received disturbing reports about escalating violence and attacks against civilians, including what appears to be on an ethnic basis in Darfur,” she said.
Individuals seeking refuge in Chad have reported a recent increase in tribal killings in Sudan’s West Darfur, coinciding with the RSF assuming control of the primary army base in the state capital, El Geneina.
