THE HAGUE, Netherlands (AP) 鈥 The International Criminal Court's chief prosecutor appealed Tuesday for information and evidence of atrocities in Sudan, saying his ongoing investigation 鈥渟eems to disclose an organized, systematic and a profound attack on human dignity.鈥
ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan released a video statement in the aftermath of an 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鈥檚 last stronghold in the sprawling Darfur region. Two weeks of fighting last month in and around al-Fasher has .
鈥淭he terrible events in West Darfur, including El-Geneina, in 2023 are among our key investigative priorities,鈥 Khan said. 鈥淚n addition, I am extremely concerned about allegations of widespread international crimes being committed in al-Fasher and its surrounding areas as I speak.鈥
A long-running 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 U.N. food agency warned the warring parties last month that there is a serious risk of widespread and elsewhere in Sudan if they don鈥檛 allow humanitarian aid into the region.
The war also created the world鈥檚 largest displacement crisis as , 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.
鈥淭he 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,鈥 he said.
鈥淚t 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,鈥 he added, stressing that he was 鈥減articularly concerned by the ethnically motivated nature of these attacks against the Masalit and other communities.鈥
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 , commonly known as Janjaweed, mobilized by al-Bashir against non-Arab tribes in . 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.
鈥淚t is an outrage that we are allowing history to repeat itself once again in Darfur,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e cannot and we must not allow Darfur to become the world鈥檚 forgotten atrocity, once again.鈥
