In the shadow of fighting in Ukraine and Gaza, Sudan’s brutal civil war has been raging for months in western Darfur, where atrocities committed 20 years ago have been seared into the international community’s consciousness.
Now, global attention is beginning to focus on the siege of a Darfur city, where chaotic violence has raised fears of another genocide or even genocide.
Here’s what we know.
risk of genocide
Fighting in the city of Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, threatens to make the war too big to ignore. The U.N. Security Council voted almost unanimously to end the siege there.
As hostile forces close in on one of Darfur’s largest cities, a New York Times analysis of satellite and video imagery found that thousands of homes have been razed to the ground and tens of thousands have been forced to flee.
The fighters are part of a paramilitary group known as the Rapid Support Forces. Given their history – they are the successors of the Janjaweed militias that once brutalized civilians – and reports of a massacre in another city last fall, many feared the worst.
If the city falls, what was originally a military conflict could turn into a genocide, similar to the violence that beset Darfur in the early 2000s when Arab Janjaweed militias attacked Africans. The United Nations estimates that 300,000 people died in the genocide.
“Today’s situation carries all the hallmarks of a genocide risk,” said Alice Wairimu Nderitu, the United Nations’ senior official for genocide prevention.
Food is about to run out
Militants have seized control of a major highway in a fierce civil war with Sudanese government soldiers. This has largely cut off food supplies – and not just in El Fasher, a supply hub for a region already mired in famine. Doctors say a child was dying every two hours in a displacement camp recently from malnutrition.
Medical services are also in short supply, with hospitals forced to close amid looting by militants.
Safe havens are scarce
Fearing violence, many residents walked 180 miles in search of safety.
But the road is fraught with danger. Temperatures reach over 120 degrees Fahrenheit (49 degrees Celsius). Many women reported being sexually assaulted along the way. Even when people reach their destinations, they often find there are shortages of food and medicine.
A doctor in East Darfur said it was “truly heartbreaking” to see the arrivals.
The International Criminal Court is paying attention
The International Criminal Court, which brought charges against Sudanese officials following the genocide two decades ago, said it was watching closely to determine what is happening now.
The Hague-based court, established in 2002 under the Rome Statute, an international treaty ratified by 124 countries, has issued a call for evidence of atrocities.
Some soldiers from the Rapid Support Forces are making that job easier. Instead of trying to cover up the razing of homes and the abuse of civilians, they documented it.
They then posted the footage on social media.
