NOTE from Sudan Watch Editor: Today, I signed the below mentioned petition calling for Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) to be designated a terrorist organisation. I signed it hoping to help eradicate poverty, extreme poverty and suffering in Sudan, South Sudan and neighbouring countries.
In Sudan, the RSF are trapping civilians in villages in RSF controlled areas by surrounding them and cutting off access to food and medicines, forcing them to drink water from the Nile, using them as human shields to protect themselves and deter bombings by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).
It must be noted that the SAF are responsible for many atrocities since the start of the Darfur rebellion in 2003. SAF chief Gen. Burhan’s dereliction of duty caused 120 peaceful protestors to be slain on the streets of Khartoum.
*The "killing of at least 120 pro-democracy protesters in 2019 were a flashpoint between activists and the military. Sudanese pro-democracy protesters demanded the Transitional Military Council hand over power to civilians, but they were attacked by the military on June 3, 2019.
The killings, carried out by military forces in an effort to disperse a sit-in calling for civilian rule and democracy, marked a pivotal moment for Sudan after the April 2019 overthrow of former President Omar al-Bashir.”
*Read full story at Al Jazeera, 3 June 2024, here:
What was the ‘Khartoum Massacre’ marked by Sudan’s activists?
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/6/3/what-was-the-khartoum-massacre-marked-by-sudans-activists
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Related Report
From Middle East Monitor
Dated 06 November 2024 - excerpt:
There is a strong case for designating Sudan’s RSF militia as a terrorist organisation
Recently, there have been several social media campaigns and online petitions that call for the RSF’s designation. Individuals who are participating in these campaigns are sharing examples of incidents that expose how the RSF Janjaweed militia is attacking and harassing them. All of these grassroots initiatives demonstrate the public support for a terrorist designation of the militia”.
Such a move will send a strong signal that the world rejects it and that the RSF can’t be part of Sudan’s political future. Moreover, it will have a practical impact on limiting the arms supply and funding from countries that back the militia, such as the UAE, which will be legally obliged to abstain from this destructive role.
Read more (and see its pale green share this icon to see dozens of ways to repost the article containing news of the campaigns and online petitions) here: https://www.middleeastmonitor.com/20241106-there-is-a-strong-case-for-designating-sudans-rsf-militia-as-a-terrorist-organisation/
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POSTSCRIPT from Sudan Watch Editor
Here is a comment by Musaab Yousif posted at above article 25 days ago. It tells a story almost identical to the one I've heard from someone in Sudan with family trapped inside a village surrounded by RSF and cut off from essential supplies and medicines, drinking polluted water from the Nile.
"The people of Hilaliya village in aljazeera state more than 3000 civilians including womens, children's, elders and peoples with chronic sickness are being held in three mosques a few meters away from their homes by RSF militia and are completely forbidden from reaching them. They are being ravaged by cholera, watery diarrhea, hunger and thirst... no medicine or food in a complete war crime by the RSF militia, in addition to the crimes of murder, looting and other violations committed by the militia against defenseless civilians to any one trying to get out .
#Save_Hilaliya_from_Janjaweed
#Rapid_Support_is_a_terrorist_organization"
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Weekly Sudan Updates
From journalist Abdallah Hussain posted at LinkedIn on 1 Dec 2024:
“We condemn the unfounded accusations and extreme bias against the government and the armed forces by the NRC.”
“The NRC Secretary-General unjustly implicated the armed forces in using starvation as a weapon and blocking humanitarian aid — a crime solely committed by the RSF militias.”
“The Secretary-General failed to name those responsible for destroying villages, employing scorched-earth policies, committing mass rapes, and other atrocities, which are well-documented crimes of the RSF militias.”
“The NRC’s Country Director in Sudan claimed before the UK’s House of Commons that humanitarian work regulations in Sudan are designed to obstruct aid delivery to those in need.”
“This aggressive stance by the NRC represents the worst example of politicizing humanitarian work and an attempt to tarnish the Sudanese government’s image internationally.”
Source: Abdallah Hussain, LinkedIn
Bilingual Journalist | News Anchor | TV Host | News Correspondent | Content Creator
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