Sudan is in chaos. Every day brings reports of mounting atrocities as autocracy and democracy go head to head, with civilians paying the price. “We had a week indescribable. I hope this is the last time that we experience this,” Jewish World Watch’s field representative in Khartoum reports. “Sudan is very fragile.”
Last time we checked in, the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) — comprised of former Janjaweed militia responsible for the genocide in Darfur and controlled by a leader of the Transitional Military Council (TMC) currently running Sudan after former President Omar Al-Bashir’s ouster — unleashed on civilian protesters in Khartoum on June 3, killing at least 124 people and injuring over 700 more. The bloody, large-scale massacre of sleeping protesters at the sit-in at military headquarters followed weeks of growing tensions as negotiations between the military council and opposition groups over the formation of a civilian-led transitional government reached an impasse. In response to the violence, the Sudanese Professionals’ Association (SPA), at the helm of the people’s revolution since the beginning, called for a campaign of civil disobedience starting June 9, in an effort to paralyze the country and force the TMC to capitulate.
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Since then, the nationwide strike has been called off, as the civilian opposition has agreed to reengage in talks with the TMC, following an Ethiopian-led mediation effort. In an unexpected turn of events, the TMC took responsibility for ordering the crackdown on June 3. The TMC “decided to disperse the sit-in,” admitted spokesman Shams al-Din Kabashi on Thursday, June 13. “[The commanders] made a plan and implemented it … but we regret that some mistakes happened,” he said.
The Atrocities
Those “mistakes” spelled devastation for the people of Sudan. Since June 3, more details regarding the extent of the atrocities have come to the fore. The violence was not restricted to mere killings and beatings as originally thought. The depravity evidenced in the dumping of dozens of bodies into the Nile by perpetrators has demonstrated itself in multifarious ways. Doctors now believe paramilitaries carried out more than 70 rapes during the June 3 attack alone. The UN has denounced reports of rapes and gang rapes of protesters, women’s human rights defenders, and women medical personnel working in hospitals, perpetrated by the RSF. UNICEF reports that at least 19 children have been killed in Sudan and another 49 injured since the crackdown began. Children are being detained, recruited as child soldiers, and sexually abused.
Beyond Khartoum, the atrocities have continued to pile up, with violence fanning out across the rest of the country. Human Rights Watch has labeled the countrywide communications shutdown a gross human rights violation and called for the immediate reinstatement of internet access. David Kaye, longtime JWW supporter and UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, has previously stated: “A general network shutdown is in clear violation of international law and cannot be justified by any means…. Shutdowns are damaging not only for people’s access to information but also for their access to basic services.” The blackout has made obtaining information exceedingly difficult and endangered civilians by disturbing emergency communications, humanitarian assistance, and access to other basic information in this time of crisis.
The Central Committee of Sudanese Doctors (CCSD), linked to the opposition, reported that “Janjaweed” fired live ammunition at civilians on Monday, June 10, at a market in Deleij, Darfur, killing at least 11 people and wounding 20 others. The Janjaweed, a militia accused of perpetrating widespread atrocities in the Darfur region, have been absorbed into the RSF. Many activists have been calling the RSF “Janjaweed” to highlight the connection between today’s perpetrators and those who carried out the brutal genocide against the people of Darfur, which resulted in the deaths of more than 300,000 people, the displacement of millions, and the destabilization of the entire region.
Remembering Darfur
The brutality of recent weeks, perpetrated by a reincarnation of the Janjaweed militias, has reminded the world of what began in Darfur back in 2003. The Darfur genocide is the genesis of Jewish World Watch, and we have remained engaged with survivors, both inside and outside of Darfur, ever since. Despite misleading reports by various stakeholders that the conditions in Darfur have markedly improved — enough to justify the premature withdrawal of vital peacekeeping forces from the region — Darfur is still very much unstable and at risk. So, it comes as no surprise that the insecure region is once again becoming a locus of unmitigated violations against innocent civilians.
On June 11, Amnesty International released a report of disturbing new evidence, including satellite imagery, showing that Sudanese government forces have continued to commit war crimes and other serious human rights violations in Darfur, including the complete or partial destruction of at least 45 villages, unlawful killings, and sexual violence. “In Darfur, as in Khartoum, we’ve witnessed the Rapid Support Forces’ despicable brutality against Sudanese civilians — the only difference being, in Darfur they have committed atrocities with impunity for years,” said Amnesty’s Secretary General Kumi Naidoo.
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Jewish World Watch has been working to empower the Darfuri refugees in camps in neighboring Chad since they fled genocide over 15 years ago. We reached out to one of our partner organizations operating in the camps in Chad to get a sense of how those with intimate knowledge of the darkest depths of Bashir’s regime — still very much in power to this day — view the current situation in their homeland. “The Darfuri refugees have expressed that they could not rejoice with those in Sudan because even those rejoicing in the fall of Bashir are those who chased the refugees from their country. The refugees are not ready to make peace with those who overthrew him … The army in power now is still the same army which recruited the groups that forced the refugees into exile. For these reasons, the voluntary returns [back home to Sudan] have been suspended and have not restarted.”
The international community has largely abandoned the Darfuri refugees in Chad, cutting down services and food rations to unforgivable levels and trying to push return to Darfur despite the enduring insecurity of the region. The one silver lining of the recent unrest in Sudan may be renewed attention to the Darfur genocide and those who continue to suffer its aftereffects to this day. Sudan is arguably at risk of another large-scale mass atrocity situation akin to what happened in Darfur, so it is imperative that the international community deploy all diplomatic and economic tools to ensure this devolution into chaos does not continue.
For the people of Darfur who are still currently living inside Sudan one priority is non-negotiable: the UN Security Council must unequivocally halt the withdrawal of the UN-African Union peacekeeping mission in Darfur (UNAMID). The joint mission, up for renewal this month and slated to shut down in 2020, is more needed than ever to protect vulnerable Darfuri civilians from the general anarchic climate spreading through the more war-beleaguered and insecure parts of Sudan. Human Rights Watch reports RSF now occupy 9 out of 10 sites that have been prematurely vacated by peacekeepers within the past eight months, and the transitional authorities have demanded that the mission hand over the rest of its sites to the nefarious paramilitary force. Should the pull-out be allowed to continue, the people of Darfur will essentially be thrown to the wolves.
Ramped up Response
International engagement in Sudan has markedly increased since the rights-effacing massacre of June 3. Ethiopia has taken the lead on mediation efforts, helping to secure an end to the civil disobedience and a resurrection of talks. Washington appointed Donald Booth as a special envoy to Sudan to find a “peaceful solution” to the crisis. Booth and the assistant secretary of state for Africa, Tibor Nagy, met with TMC chief General Abdel Fattah al-Burhan on Thursday, June 13. The Alliance for Freedom and Change, the vanguard and lead negotiating body of the protest movement, said its leaders had briefed the two US officials on June 12, calling for transparent investigations into the June 3 killings, the withdrawal of militias from the streets, the lifting of the internet blockade, and the establishment of a civilian administration.
Al Jazeera reports that signs of life are returning to Khartoum, with some shops reopening and more residents venturing out after essentially living under lockdown conditions since last week. Fewer troops and members of the feared RSF roam the streets.
But this marginal improvement cannot be taken as a green light to relax the pressure. If anything, the world cannot take its eyes off of Sudan, now more than ever. Promisingly, it appears that more and more of the world is awakening to what’s happening to the people of Sudan. Celebrities and influencers are taking up the cause, urging their fans and followers to stand in solidarity with the people’s revolution. A #BlueforSudan campaign is spreading through social media. The world is watching.
We must capitalize on this growing awareness to ensure that the U.S. and other countries continue to take urgent and robust action. Washington’s denunciations of the violence and appointment of a special envoy are important steps, but the real work lies in convincing our Arab allies to end their support of the TMC and allow for civilian rule to take root in Sudan.
Please join Jewish World Watch in sending a message to our government that the people of Sudan deserve the democracy for which they have so ardently fought and sacrificed. There currently are two resolutions in the House and Senate, respectively, that, if passed, would help to maintain strong pressure on Washington to not move on from Sudan until real, sustainable change is realized. S. Res. 188, introduced by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), encourages a swift transfer of power by the military to a civilian-led political authority. We commend both California Senators, Diane Feinstein and Kamala Harris, for already signing on to this important expression of solidarity with the people of Sudan. Similarly, H.Res. 432, sponsored by Rep. Daniel Kildee (D-MI-5) condemns the June 3 attacks and supports an immediate peaceful transfer of power to the people. As of today, the resolution has already garnered 44 bipartisan supporters.
We must show the people of Sudan that we see them and stand with them. The opposition is facing a huge challenge moving forward, trying to strike a balance between the intense pressure from international actors to negotiate with the TMC and the deep distrust among protesters sparked by the recent catastrophic violence. Let’s remain vigilant and engaged to amplify the voices of our Sudanese brothers and sisters and do our part to stop another Darfur from happening.
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