News- Middle East: Sudanese Ambassador to Tehran Abdulaziz Hassan Saleh has stated that the city of El Fasher represents “one of the most tragic chapters in modern Sudanese history,” calling for the international community to take effective action to halt the atrocities.

He said Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces (RSF) are “deliberately starving residents to weaken them and set the stage” for organized massacres amounting to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide.

Saleh further criticized the international community’s inaction towards the matter, calling for international communities, human rights organizations, and the media to avoid mere issuance of statements and take effective action to stop the hostilities and guarantee humanitarian access.

"Unfortunately, the silence or slow reaction of parts of the international community and regional institutions played a significant role in encouraging these rebel forces," he said.

The Sudanese ambassador affirmed his government’s firm commitment to “preserve the country's unity and use all legitimate means to defeat these rebel groups.”

He called for the international prosecution of all those backing, financing, or supporting the forces — including governments, individuals, and organizations both inside and outside Sudan.

El Fasher has now become a focal point of global attention following a serious escalation in the Sudanese crisis, entering a new phase of violence and displacement.

On Tuesday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmaeil Baghaei expressed concern over the armed clashes in El Fasher, the center of North Darfur state, and condemned the destruction of infrastructure and the killing of innocent people in the city.

He warned against certain dangerous movements aiming for the re-disintegration of Sudan and emphasized the necessity of respecting Sudan's national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Following the siege of some 1.2 million people for 18 months by the RSF, the group claimed to have seized the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF)’s last stronghold in El Fasher in northern Darfur on Sunday, as the United Nations issued a stark warning over reports of atrocities by the RSF.

The UN Security Council (UNSC) previously issued Resolution 2736 in June 2024, demanding the lifting of the siege on El Fasher and the provision of humanitarian access to civilians, but failed to secure full implementation of the resolution.

Reports from the Sudan Doctors Network (SDN) and other sources indicate that the RSF has been responsible for summary executions, mass killings—including the alleged targeting of patients and staff inside the Saudi Hospital—and sexual violence against women and girls.

Some 2,000 people had been killed by Wednesday, according to the Sudanese Armed Forces.

Furthermore, More than 26,000 people have fled El Fasher in just two days, the UN said. Those who attempt to flee are reportedly pursued and killed by the RSF forces, as the group controls city entrances.

Using satellite imagery and remote-sensing data, Yale’s Humanitarian Research Lab (HRL) reported that clusters of objects and ground discoloration are evidence of human bodies and pools of blood. The clusters and discoloration were not present in images taken before the RSF invaded, the report noted.

Sudanese authorities have repeatedly said the RSF enjoys unconditional support from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), with Khartoom taking legal action against the country at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in April.

A report by British daily newspaper The Guardian on Tuesday revealed that British-made weapons and military equipment are being supplied by the UAE to militants from the RSF.

According to Khartoum-based writer and strategic affairs analyst Makkawi Elmalik, what is happening in Sudan "is not a regular military battle, but a systematic extermination committed by the RSF, supported by the UAE and Israel," he said.

Elmalik added that both the UAE and the Israeli regime have participated in planning the militia’s attacks on civilians in the Sudanese city and provided them with weapons and intelligence. 

Concurrent with the RSF’s incursion into El Fasher, the American media outlet The Wall Street Journal also reported that the UAE is supplying the group with weaponry.

The RSF’s claim of full control over the SAF’s last stronghold in El Fasher is disputed by the Sudanese military forces.

The fate of the city remains unclear as the fighting continues, with combat still underway inside the city.

In 2023, a conflict broke out between the Sudanese army and the RSF, which has since resulted in the deaths of tens of thousands, displaced over 12 million people, and led the International Rescue Committee to characterize it as “the largest humanitarian crisis ever documented.”

Source: Press TV