The International Criminal Court has released a statement declaring that Darfuris are experiencing collective torture and ongoing war crimes which have escalated ever since the Rapid Support Forces captured the city of Al-Fashir. The ICC is currently conducting an investigation on the war crimes perpetuated in Darfur by the RSF which was prompted following the fall of the city of Al-Fashir where tens of thousands of civilians have been killed in a siege that took more than 500 days.
The ICC convicted the Janjaweed leader Ali Muhammad Ali Abd-Al-Rahman for war crimes and genocide in Darfur and the ICC Deputy-Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan said that his case will serve as a catalyst for further justice over the crimes committed in Darfur. The Janjaweed is the former name used by the RSF which rebranded itself after committing widespread war crimes in Darfur in the early 2000s.
Meanwhile, as the Sudanese Armed Forces battle the RSF in the Kordofan region, the air-routes from the United Arab Emirates which have been used to supply the RSF are being gradually closed to the UAE military transports. The Kufra military air-base in south-east Libya, also known to supply the RSF, has closed down for “maintenance” despite having been refurbished just a year earlier. According to Rich Tedd, who has been regularly following the UAE weapons shipments to Sudan, N’Djamena in Chad remains the last available loading for UAE weapons to the RSF with the route going through Djibouti, Ethiopia, South Sudan and then Chad.
In November of last year, the US Secretary of State Marco Rubio pressured the UAE to stop its weapons supplies to the RSF. The UAE’s military supplies decreased slightly but remained ongoing. Egypt seems to have closed its airspace for these flights according to the reports.
While war rages in Darfur, Khartoum is gradually coming back to life and its international airport has also operated its first flights since re-opening.
Newsroom
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