Republic of Sudan
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Office of the Spokesperson - Media Department
Press Statement
The terrorist militia continues to commit unprecedented atrocities against civilians, targeting civilian and humanitarian facilities in a number of Sudanese states. Having suffered successive defeats at the hands of the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the Joint forces of Peace Partners in the State of North Darfur, the militia’s mercenaries stepped up their shelling of residential areas, displaced persons' camps and markets. The day before yesterday, they targeted the Women's and Maternity Hospital in Al-Fasher, which resulted in serious injuries to nine patients. Similarly, The Abu Shouk camp for displaced persons and its shelter center have been subjected to daily shelling. This has resulted in dozens of civilian deaths in recent weeks. At the same time, the militia continues its crimes of ethnic cleansing around Al-Fasher, pursuing a scorched-earth policy.
Furthermore, and in recent days the militia has committed a series of new massacres against unarmed villagers in the areas of Um Ruwaba in North Kordofan State, Al-Kamilin, Al-Muailiq, and Al-Huda in Al-Jazira State, in addition to shelling residential areas in the Karrari locality in Khartoum using long-range artillery. Seven civilians were killed yesterday as a result of the shelling. It is clear that the militia, due to its inability to battle the SAF directly, has now resorted to exclusively targeting civilians and civilian institutions in an attempt to cause the greatest possible loss of life and force citizens to evacuate their villages and residential areas so as to settle its mercenaries in their place. In order to do so, the militia uses deadly weapons and drones provided to it by its regional sponsors, and employs all means of terrorizing, intimidating and humiliating citizens. In this context, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomes the successive condemnations of the terrorist militia that have been issued recently by UN officials, human rights organizations and governments and legislatures in a number of countries around the world, especially the description of the militia’s crimes in their true terms, as crimes of genocide, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity. At the same time, the Ministry notes that the SAF and the Joint Forces, backed up by all of the Sudanese people, in their heroic fight against the militia, are not only defending Sudan and its people, but are also playing a major role in protecting regional and international security. The international community must acknowledge this role and support it. Unfounded accusations that are sometimes made by international parties against the SAF, and statements that equate the SAF with the rebel militia, must cease. Additionally, The Ministry points to international and regional cooperation in confronting similar terrorist movements such as ISIS, Boko Haram, the Lord's Army, Seleka and other similar groups in the African Horn. In comparison, the terrorist militia poses a greater threat than those groups due to the continuous regional support it receives in terms of weapons and mercenaries; an act which is met with international hesitation and leniency. It is time for the institutions of international peace, anti-impunity mechanisms, and international criminal justice to assume their responsibility towards this terrorist threat, which Sudan is confronting on behalf of the international community.