Rights Group Warns Sudan’s Rival Forces Over Explosive Weapons

May 3, 2023 (NAIROBI/KHARTOUM) – The two warring armed forces IN Sudan’s raging conflict have repeatedly used explosive weapons in urban areas, causing loss of civilian life and property, a rights group said.

The action of the rival forces, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Thursday, has damaged critical infrastructure and left millions without access to basic necessities.

“The United Nations Security Council should urgently adopt measures to deter abuses and act to hold those responsible to account,” said HRW.

On April 15, fighting broke out in Khartoum, between the Sudan Armed Forces (SAF) and the country’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

According to HRW, Sudan’s military and the RSF have used explosive weapons with wide-area effects in populated areas, including tanks, artillery, rockets, and air-delivered munitions in the case of the SAF that frequently result in indiscriminate attacks in violation of the laws of war.

More than 500 people, according to the United Nations humanitarian agency (OCHA), have died and over 4,500 injured since the conflict began, with many more thought to have died due to the disruption of critical services, including health care.

In addition, about 334,000 people are estimated to have been internally displaced, and over 100,000 people have fled to neighbouring countries.

In Khartoum, several neighbourhoods continue to face severe water shortages due to blackouts, lack of fuel and damage to water supplies.

“Sudan’s warring armies are showing reckless disregard for civilian lives by using inaccurate weapons in populated urban areas,” said Mohamed Osman, the Sudan researcher at HRW.

He added, “Rockets, bombs, and other types of explosive weapons are killing and wounding civilians and damaging infrastructure critical for access to water and medical care.”

The outbreak of hostilities followed weeks of mounting tensions between the army chief, Gen. Abdelfattah al-Burhan, and the RSF leader, Gen. Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo. The fighting quickly spread to Khartoum’s adjoining cities of Omdurman and Bahri – a metropolitan area of 6.5 million inhabitants – as well as provincial towns including El Fasher, Nyala and then El Geneina in Darfur and El Obeid in North Kordofan.

The rights group said it verified at least 10 videos showing the SAF and RSF using explosive weapons in populated areas in the greater Khartoum area.

It also analyzed satellite imagery and four videos and eight images showing apparent attacks on healthcare facilities and a water treatment plant.

Meanwhile HRW urged Sudan’s regional and international partners, the African Union Peace and Security Council (AUPSC), and the UN Security Council (UNSC) to adopt concrete measures to reduce harm to civilians, including an arms embargo and targeted sanctions.

“UN and African bodies urgently need to put pressure on the warring forces to abide by international law and ensure everyone has access to aid and medical care,” said Osman, further adding, “To keep a bad situation from getting worse, it’s critical for the Security Council to block all arms transfers to Sudan, ensure reporting on abuses, and create a mechanism to help bring those responsible for serious crimes to justice.”

More than 800,000 people, according to the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), may flee Sudan due to the ongoing fighting between the SAF and the RSF. Those fleeing the current conflict, the agency said, include Sudanese nationals and thousands of existing refugees living temporarily in Sudan.

(ST)