Rhino: Agencies – Since the outbreak of renewed hostilities in April 2023, combatants have inflicted appalling cruelty and violence on defenseless Sudanese, told US Ambassador to the United Nations Dorothy Shea during a briefing to the UN Security Council session dedicated to hearing the report of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor on Monday.

The SAF has committed war crimes in Sudan, carrying out deadly attacks on civilians, including widespread bombing of civilian infrastructure, schools, markets, and hospitals, and committing torture and extrajudicial executions.

The US delegate held the SAF responsible for the routine denial of humanitarian access, adding: “Their repeated targeting of civilian infrastructure and attacks on civilians have brought unimaginable suffering to vulnerable communities and underscore that the SAF is not a credible representative of the Republic of Sudan.”

She continued: “Many of those responsible for the atrocities committed more than 20 years ago in Sudan remain at large. We urge the international community to work to bring these individuals to trial so that they can be held publicly accountable for their alleged crimes.”
Noting that the failure to achieve accountability decades ago is one of the reasons why the conflict is still raging, she emphasized the importance of countries supporting efforts to collect and analyze evidence.

The horrific violence perpetrated by the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces must end, she said, adding that the warring parties must allow humanitarian aid to flow to the civilian population in Sudan. She added: “It is long past time to stop the killing and empower the Sudanese people in their quest for a peaceful and prosperous future.”