ICC Chief Prosecutor Karim Khan KC appeals for information on international crimes in Darfur, Sudan

THE International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor Mr Karim Khan KC issued an urgent appeal today (Tuesday, 11 June 2024) in The Hague for information and evidence of atrocities in Darfur, Sudan, saying his ongoing investigation “seems to disclose an organised, systematic and a profound attack on human dignity.” Mr Khan called on international organisations, partners and national authorities to collect evidence and information and hand it over to him. View the appeal on video and two reports here below. 

Provide evidence and information to the ICC here: https://otplink.icc-cpi.int

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Also, follow along using a Transcript here: https://youtu.be/2D2DYptFW8st

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Report from The Washington Post

By MIKE CORDER, AP (The Associated Press)

Dated Tuesday, 11 June 2024 5:08 am EDT. Here is a full copy:

ICC prosecutor appeals for evidence of atrocities in Sudan after rebels attack hospital in Darfur

The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor is appealing for information and evidence of atrocities in Sudan’s western Darfur region

THE HAGUE, Netherlands — The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor appealed Tuesday for information and evidence of atrocities in Sudan, saying his ongoing investigation “seems to disclose an organized, systematic and a profound attack on human dignity.”

ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan released a video statement in the aftermath of an attack Sunday by the notorious Rapid Support Forces paramilitary group that forced the closure of a main hospital in the western Darfur region. The group fired shots and looted the hospital in al-Fasher, aid group Doctors Without Borders reported.

The attack came as the RSF, which has been fighting the Sudanese army for a year, intensified its offensive seeking to wrest control of the city, the military’s last stronghold in the sprawling Darfur region. Two weeks of fighting last month in and around al-Fasher has killed more than 120 people.

“The terrible events in West Darfur, including El-Geneina, in 2023 are among our key investigative priorities,” Khan said. “In addition, I am extremely concerned about allegations of widespread international crimes being committed in al-Fasher and its surrounding areas as I speak.”

A long-running conflict

Sudan’s conflict began in April last year when soaring tensions between the leaders of the military and the RSF erupted into fighting in the capital, Khartoum, and elsewhere in the country.

The war has killed more than 14,000 people and wounded thousands more, while pushing its population to the brink of famine. The U.N. food agency warned the warring parties last month that there is a serious risk of widespread starvation and death in Darfur and elsewhere in Sudan if they don’t allow humanitarian aid into the region.

The war also created the world’s largest displacement crisis as more than 10 million people have been forced to flee their homes, including over 2 million people who crossed into neighboring countries, the U.N. migration agency told The Associated Press Monday.

Khan said he is urgently investigating in Sudan.

“The evidence my office has collected to date seems to show credible, repeated, expanding, continuous allegations of attacks against the civilian population, in particular, attacks directed against camps for internally displaced persons,” he said.

“It seems to show the widespread, prevalent use of rape and other forms of sexual violence. It seems to disclose consistently the shelling of civilian areas, the looting of properties and attacks against hospitals,” he added, stressing that he was “particularly concerned by the ethnically motivated nature of these attacks against the Masalit and other communities.”

The ICC already has an ongoing investigation in Sudan

The ICC has long been investigating atrocities in Sudan, dating back to a previous devastating conflict in Darfur. The court has issued arrest warrants for former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir on charges including genocide allegedly committed in Darfur between 2003-2008.

The RSF was born out of Arab militias, commonly known as Janjaweed, mobilized by al-Bashir against non-Arab tribes in Darfur. At the time, they were accused of mass killings, rapes and other atrocities, and Darfur became synonymous with genocide.

Khan referred back to the previous conflict in his message Tuesday.

“It is an outrage that we are allowing history to repeat itself once again in Darfur,” he said. “We cannot and we must not allow Darfur to become the world’s forgotten atrocity, once again.”

Photo [not shown here] caption: FILE - Sudanese soldiers from the Rapid Support Forces unit, led by Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, the deputy head of the military council, secure the area where Dagalo attends a military-backed tribe’s rally, in the East Nile province, Sudan, on June 22, 2019. The RSF, attacked the South Hospital in al-Fasher, the capital city of North Darfur province on Sunday, June 9, 2024 opening fire on medical staff and patients, Doctors Without Borders said in a statement. (AP Photo/Hussein Malla, File)

View original: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2024/06/11/sudan-icc-investigation-khan-rsf-darfur/2e3324a8-27d2-11ef-835a-2a6acac1f8a6_story.html

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Further Reading

From International Organisation for Migration (IOM) 11 June 2024:

DTM Sudan Mobility Update (02). IOM, Sudan

This report provides an overview of the total population of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Sudan, including those displaced both before and after the onset of conflict on 15 April 2023.  

See full report here: https://dtm.iom.int/reports/sudan-mobility-update-02

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UPDATE by Sudan Watch Editor 

On Wednesday, 12 June 2024 at 15:26 GMT:

The above video can be viewed at X in post by ICC 8:45AM June 11, 2024.

#ICC Prosecutor @KarimKhanQC announces campaign calling for information and cooperation in relation to allegations of international crimes being committed in #Darfur, Sudan, including in Al Fasher.

Info can be sent to #OTPLink:https://t.co/IYVUCvyWCA

Watch 👇 pic.twitter.com/H1sMPGB8jP

— Int'l Criminal Court (@IntlCrimCourt) June 11, 2024

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Unable to survive in Egypt, refugees return to Sudan. Egypt hosts nine million refugees and immigrants

THIS stomach churning report paints a picture of hopeless despair: unable to survive in Egypt, Sudanese refugees are returning to Sudan not knowing how or where to sleep safely. "We can't go back, we can't move anywhere else, and we can't stay here," Ali said from a Sudanese community centre in Cairo which is also under threat of eviction. Their priority, many told AFP, is finding anywhere safe to lay their heads, even if only on a cold tile floor. 

Read more in report from AFP via Yahoo.com
By Bahira Amin
Dated Tuesday, 13 February 2024, 1:55 AM GMT - here is a copy in full:

Unable to survive in Egypt, refugees return to war-torn Sudan

Sudanese drivers rest on May 14, 2023 after transporting evacuees from Sudan into Egypt, in Wadi Karkar village near Aswan (Khaled DESOUKI)

Ten months after Sudan's brutal war sent hundreds of thousands fleeing, many of those who sought refuge in neighbouring Egypt are caught between the grim choice of homelessness or returning at their own peril.

Single mother Rehab has been in Egypt for seven months, fighting to build a life for her children. "I have a daughter who was born here, and I can't work to provide for her," the 28-year-old told AFP.

Gathered in a small church in eastern Cairo, dozens of women like Rehab said their families -- cramped into overcrowded apartments -- have been sleeping on bare floors since they arrived.

"People came to Egypt thinking life will be better here," 28-year old Ibram Kiir, a Sunday school teacher from Sudan who has been in Egypt for five years and helps refugees through the church, told AFP.  "But then reality hits. They don't have any money, they can't get an apartment, it's cold and they can't get winter clothes. So they turn back," he said.

Since the fighting began in April between the Sudanese army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, over 450,000 people have crossed the border into Egypt, according to official figures. Their priority, many told AFP, is finding anywhere safe to lay their heads, even if only on a cold tile floor.

But as the months stretch on, employment, proper housing and help become nearly impossible to find, with Egypt's two-year economic crisis rapidly worsening. Soaring inflation -- which registered a record high of 39.7 percent last year -- decimated livelihoods just as war-weary Sudanese began arriving.

Many turned up with just the clothes on their backs. They ended up staying in small apartments with two or three families at a time, many of them with only one breadwinner between them earning less than minimum wage.

Dan Mhik Akom, a 34-year-old who cleans houses part-time, tried to convince a friend things would get better. But after months watching his family "unable to even get to the kitchen to feed themselves" because of overcrowding, "he made up his mind and returned to Sudan," he told AFP.

- 'Rather die' -

Another Sunday school teacher, Randa Hussein, said her cousin left Cairo in October, heading back to her home on the war-ravaged outskirts of Khartoum. She said she "would rather die there than stay here," said Hussein, 33. Her family has not heard from her since.

Hussein is now hosting another refugee, a 20-year old mother of two who had been staying with her grandmother, until the landlord threatened the elderly woman with eviction if the newcomers did not leave. Unable to find a job or an apartment, "she's insisting on going back to Sudan," Hussein said. "She has a one-year-old she can't feed. She doesn't know what to do."

Yet back in Sudan, the situation is no better: her Khartoum neighbourhood has been shelled beyond recognition, and the homes that still stand are overrun with fighters. 

"People are being forced to choose between being homeless and being unsafe," said Sudanese political economist Raga Makawi. "Unable to afford even squalid conditions in Egypt, they choose to go back, preferring to negotiate their security with armed actors however they can," she told AFP.

The threat of homelessness is just around the corner for several Sudanese AFP interviewed.

Hawa Talfon, a preacher's wife, was kicked out with only two weeks' notice for hosting too many displaced family members. She had lived in her home in eastern Cairo for five years, before her brother's family joined her to flee the war. "What was I supposed to do? Kick them out?" she asked, after her landlord objected to her guests.

- 'Burden' -

AFP heard from dozens of Sudanese families across Cairo who faced the same fate, with landlords citing reasons such as "excess wear-and-tear" on their properties.

Under the shadow of the nationwide financial crisis, rights groups and Sudanese living in Egypt have warned of rising anti-refugee sentiment.

Yasser Ali, 40, who came to Cairo in 2002 to study law, told AFP that just in the past year, "everything has changed, people's attitudes have got a lot more aggressive."

According to Nour Khalil, founder of the advocacy organisation Refugees Platform in Egypt, there is "a concerted campaign, based purely on misinformation, to place the blame for the current economic crisis on society's most vulnerable."

Last month, the government said it would audit how much Egypt's "guests" -- as the administration calls nine million refugees and immigrants -- cost the country.

Almost in tandem, Khalil and other rights defenders tracked a rise in social media posts labelling refugees as a "burden", though most receive little to no assistance from either the United Nations or the government.

Cairo for its part holds that new arrivals are allowed to work and move "freely".

Rents have soared in Cairo as the economic crisis worsens, though rights groups and Sudanese told AFP landlords were specifically targeting Sudanese residents.

"You either pay up or they'll find someone who will," Kiir said, with some families like Talfon's given a different ultimatum: kick out "your own flesh and blood" or leave.

As the war rages, people have been left with no options.

"We can't go back, we can't move anywhere else, and we can't stay here," Ali said from a Sudanese community centre in Cairo -- which is also under threat of eviction.          

bha/sbh/dcp/jsa 

View original: https://news.yahoo.com/unable-survive-egypt-refugees-return-015555421.html

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UN relief chief Martin Griffiths releases $10m USD to aid 500,000 people in South Sudan fleeing Sudan war

UN OCHA said the fund would be used to build shelters, offer cash assistance, build water, sanitation and hygiene facilities, and support onward transportation for new arrivals at overcrowded transit sites. 

 

Read more from China View Xinhuanet

By Xinhua Editor: Huaxia

Dated Tuesday, 16 January 2024; 03:45 - here is a copy in full:

UN relief chief releases fund to aid Sudanese refugees in South Sudan

UNITED NATIONS, Jan. 15 (Xinhua) -- The UN humanitarian chief released an emergency 10 million U.S. dollars on Monday to aid about 500,000 people in South Sudan fleeing the Sudan war.

UN Undersecretary-General and Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths allocated the fund from the UN Central Emergency Response Fund, said the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

"As of today (Monday), about 500,000 people have crossed into South Sudan since mid-April, when Sudan's war started," OCHA said. "In just the past month, more than 60,000 people have arrived in South Sudan, following the outbreak of clashes in and around Wad Medani, Sudan's second-largest city."

The office said thousands more people are expected to arrive in South Sudan over the next six months.

OCHA said the fund would be used to build shelters, offer cash assistance, build water, sanitation and hygiene facilities, and support onward transportation for new arrivals at overcrowded transit sites. 

View original: http://www.chinaview.cn/20240116/963c578e32234e2e81bfb21e4db1af2b/c.html

ENDS 

Sudan Humanitarian Update (14 January 2024)

HERE is a full copy of an analysis from UN OCHA Sunday, 14 January 2024.

SUDAN Humanitarian Update (14 January 2024)

HIGHLIGHTS

•  More than 7.4 million people have been displaced inside and outside Sudan since fighting broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on 15 April 2023.
 

•  The number of people displaced in Sudan has increased by about 611,000 over the past month, mainly due to the conflict-induced displacement from parts of Aj Jazirah and other states.
 

•  The expansion of fighting between SAF and the RSF into central and eastern Sudan—the country's most important regions for crop production—has driven a significant increase in humanitarian needs during the harvest season, according to FEWS NET.
 

•  Insecurity, looting, bureaucratic impediments, poor network and phone connectivity, lack of cash, and limited technical and humanitarian staff are affecting the delivery of humanitarian aid in many parts of the country.
 

•  The 2024 Sudan Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan appeal is 3.1 per cent funded as of 14 January 2024.

Click here for the PDF

Click here to read online

SITUATION OVERVIEW

Almost nine months after the fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) erupted on 15 April 2023 in the capital Khartoum, more than 7.4 million people have fled their homes, taking refuge inside and outside Sudan, with children representing about half of the people displaced. Sudan is now the country with the largest number of displaced people and the largest child displacement crisis in the world. 

According to the International Organization for Migration Displacement Tracking Matrix (IOM DTM) Sudan Weekly Displacement Snapshot (16), more than 6 million people have been displaced within Sudan, increasing by an estimated 611,000 people over the past month mainly due to new displacements from Aj Jazirah and other states since 15 December 2023. IOM DTM reported in its update on Aj Jazirah State displacement that about 509,800 people were displaced by fighting in Aj Jazirah. About 205,500 of them were displaced in other safe locations within Aj Jazirah, and another 304,336 IDPs fled to other states across Sudan, including Gedaref (64,551 IDPs), Sennar (60,000 IDPs), Red Sea (50,035 IDPs), White Nile (40,750 IDPs), River Nile (30,000 IDPs), Kassala (30,000 IDPs), Blue Nile (15,000 IDPs), and Northern (14,000 IDPs) states. 

The 6 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) are sheltering in 6,282 locations across all of Sudan’s 18 states, an increase of 343 locations over the past month. The highest number of IDPs were observed in South Darfur (12 per cent), East Darfur (11 per cent), River Nile (11 per cent), Aj Jazirah (8 per cent), White Nile (8 per cent), and North Darfur (8 per cent). IOM DTM field teams report that the IDPs were originally displaced from 12 states, the majority of whom (about 3.7 million people or 61 per cent of the total displaced) were reportedly displaced from Khartoum State, followed by South Darfur (15 per cent), North Darfur (8 per cent), Aj Jazirah (5 per cent), Central Darfur (4 per cent), West Darfur (3 per cent), and the rest in other six states. In addition, more than 1.4 million people have crossed into neighbouring countries since 15 April 2023, according to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). 

Expanding conflict and displacement drive even higher needs during the harvest – FEWS NET

The expansion of fighting between the SAF and the RSF into parts of central and eastern Sudan—the country's most important regions for crop production—has driven a significant increase in humanitarian needs during the harvesting season (December and January),reports FEWS NET. This development is expected to lead to considerable deterioration in acute food insecurity in the southeast from what was previously expected, worsening an already dire situation, according to FEWS NET’s Sudan - Food Security Outlook Update. Widespread Crisis (IPC Phase 3) levels of food insecurity are expected across much of the country, with Emergency (IPC Phase 4) outcomes expected in the heavily conflict-affected urban areas of Khartoum, greater Darfur, greater Kordofan, and parts of Blue Nile states. Of highest concern are populations in parts of Khartoum, Ag Geneina, Nyala, Wad Madani, and among the displaced due to the impact of intensive fighting and disruption to humanitarian assistance.

Impact of conflict on civilians

In South Kordofan State, clashes renewed on 7 January between the Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement-North (Al-Hilu faction) and SAF against the RSF in Abu Zaid and Al Matar neighbourhoods of Dilling town, South Kordofan State. The incident follows previously reported clashes on 9 December 2023.IOM DTM field teams reported that 2,840 people were displaced and sought refuge in Khamis village in Dilling locality following the clashes, while about 320 newly displaced people arrived in Dibebad town in Al Quoz locality in South Kordofan.

In North Kordofan State, tensions rose on 3 January between the RSF and Sudanese People’s Liberation Movement-North Al-Hilu faction in Broka village of Ar Rahad locality, reports IOM DTM. As a result, about 430 people (86 families) were displaced and are taking refuge in Al Huda, Al Safa, and Al Shati’ neighbourhoods in Ar Rahad Town as well as in Aradeba, Tendalti, Umm Habila and As Sawani villages in Ar Rahad locality. The situation remains tense and unpredictable. There are 137,300 IDPs in North Kordofan State post-April 2023, according to IOM DTM.

On 8 January 2024, armed clashes renewed between the SAF and the RSF in El Obeid town, the capital of North Kordofan State. Clashes were reported in southern neighbourhoods of El Obeid town. While no civilian displacement was reported, the situation on the ground remains tense and unpredictable, IOM DTM reported.

In North Darfur State, clashes between SAF and RSF renewed on 9 January at the Melit checkpoint in Al Fasher Town, Al Fasher locality. IOM Field teams reported that approximately 250 people (50 families) were displaced from Abu Shock and Al Salam IDP camps to neighbourhoods in the west of Al Fasher Town. The situation remains tense and unpredictable.

Almost 9,000 suspected cases of cholera – a 43 per cent increase in one month

Almost 9,000 suspected cases of cholera, including 245 associated deaths, were reported as of 6 January 2024 from 46 localities of nine states, according to the Federal Ministry of Health (FMoH) and the World Health Organization (WHO) Sudan Outbreaks Dashboard. This is an increase of about 43 per cent compared to the number of cases reported on 6 December 2023. However, this indicates a downward trend and a much lower increase compared to previous months. Between 6 November – 6 December the number of cases increased by 143 per cent, and between 6 October and 6 November the increase was 175 per cent. During December 2023, oral cholera vaccination campaigns have been organized in Gedaref and Aj Jazirah states, with about 2.2 million people vaccinated. There are 2,746 suspected cases and 95 associated deaths in Red Sea; 2,036 suspected cases of cholera and 50 associated deaths in Gedaref; 1,860 suspected cases and 26 associated deaths in Aj Jazirah; 1,246 suspected cases and 32 associated deaths in White Nile; 525 suspected cases and 26 associated deaths in Khartoum; 346 suspected cases and eight associated deaths in South Kordofan; 121 suspected cases and four associated deaths in Sennar; 99 suspected cases and four associated deaths in Kassala; and three suspected case in Blue Nile State.

Increase in desert locust groups and small bands in December 2023

During December, the first winter generation of locust hatching finished on Sudan’s Red Sea coast from Eritrea to Egypt, according to the most recent Desert Locust Bulletin of the Food and Agriculture Organization. As a result, there was an increase in the number of desert locust hopper groups and small bands during the month. Hopper groups are forming ground or basking groups, with 20 and more adult locusts per 400 m foot transecting or 500 or more locusts per hectare. According to the FAO, in response to environmental stimuli, dense and highly mobile desert locust swarms can form. They are ravenous eaters who consume their own weight per day, targeting food crops and forage. A single square kilometre of swarm can contain up to 80 million adults, with the capacity to consume the same amount of food in one day as 35,000 people. Large swarms pose a major threat to food security and rural livelihoods. In the second week, fledgling and immature groups formed, while a few mature groups were copulating near Karora and the Eritrea border. Hoppers, adults, and some groups were observed in the northeast subcoastal region from Tomala to Sufiya and the Egypt border. Control operations treated 22,677 hectares of land along the coast, of which 3,550 were by air. Hoppers, adults, groups, and very small bands and swarms will continue during January along the Red Sea coast and subcoastal area. A second generation could occur with hatching and hopper groups and bands from the second half of January and new adult groups appearing in early March.

HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE

Various challenges - insecurity, looting, bureaucratic impediments, poor network and phone connectivity, lack of cash, and limited technical and humanitarian staff on the ground – have been affecting the delivery of humanitarian assistance in many parts of the country. Fuel shortages also affect the movement of humanitarian staff and supplies and the generation of power needed for operations (maintaining cold chain storage, supplying water, etc). Despite all these challenges, humanitarian partners continue to provide life-saving assistance to the vulnerable people they can reach. 

Overall, between 15 April and 30 November 2023, 163 humanitarian partners provided about 5.2 million people across Sudan with life-saving assistance according to the latest Humanitarian Response Dashboard. 

For more information on cluster-specific response see the latest Sudan Humanitarian Response Dashboard.

HUMANITARIAN RESPONSE PLAN FUNDING OVERVIEW

The 2024 Sudan Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan (HNRP) requires US$2.7 billion to provide life-saving multi-cluster and protection assistance to 14.7 million people across Sudan in 2024. As of 14 January 2024, the appeal is 3.1 per cent funded, with $83.8 million received, according to the Financial Tracking Service. The Sudan Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan for 2023 was 41.8 per cent funded. 

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See entire digital situation report for Sudan

Previous updates: Sudan Humanitarian Update, 4 January 2024

OCHA coordinates the global emergency response to save lives and protect people in humanitarian crises. We advocate for effective and principled humanitarian action by all, for all. https://www.unocha.org/sudan

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