Sudan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday welcomed the UN human rights chief's condemnation of atrocities committed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in West Darfur state.
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"The Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomes the statement of the spokesperson of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Geneva, who directly condemned the rebel militia for its atrocities in West Darfur state," the ministry said in a statement.
The ministry called on international and regional organizations to put more pressure on the RSF, "condemning the violations it commits against the Sudanese people."
On Saturday, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) issued a statement calling for immediate action to stop the killing of civilians fleeing El Geneina, capital of West Darfur state. It said there have been lurid accounts of RSF-backed "Arab" armed militias killing people fleeing El Geneina for Adre in Chad.
The OHCHR has urged immediate action to stop the "wanton killings," adding that "safe passage must be guaranteed for people fleeing El Geneina and humanitarian agencies must be allowed access to the area to collect the remains of those killed."
The statement calls on the RSF leadership to "immediately and unequivocally condemn and put an end to the killing of people fleeing El Geneina, as well as other acts of violence and hate speech against them on the basis of their ethnicity."
According to the Sudan Doctors' Union, more than 1,000 people were killed in El Geneina in attacks by armed militias.
Since April 15, Sudan has been the scene of deadly armed clashes between Sudanese armed forces and the RSF in Khartoum and other areas. According to the Sudanese Ministry of Health, more than 3,000 people have been killed and more than 6,000 injured. Some 2.5 million people have been displaced inside and outside the country.
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