WASHINGTON

UN relief chief Tom Fletcher on Thursday warned of "horrific" levels of violence and suffering in Sudan as El-Fasher has descended into “an even darker hell” following its capture by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF).

"El-Fasher, already the scene of catastrophic levels of human suffering, has descended into an even darker hell, with credible reports of widespread executions after Rapid Support Forces fighters entered the city," Fletcher told the Security Council.

Fletcher said the world could no longer claim ignorance about the atrocities unfolding in Sudan’s conflict zones.

"Can anyone here say we did not know this was coming? We cannot hear the screams, but, as we sit here today, the horror is continuing. Women and girls are being raped, people being mutilated and killed, with utter impunity," he added.

Fletcher said credible reports indicate mass executions in El-Fasher after RSF forces entered the city, including the killing of nearly 500 patients and companions inside the Saudi Maternity Hospital. He called it “the latest of countless attacks on health care and yet another example of the depravity with which this war has been fought.”

He said tens of thousands of civilians are fleeing El-Fasher toward Tawila, which is already overcrowded with displaced people. Those who flee, he added, face extortion, rape and abduction along the way.

"The Sudan crisis is, at its core, a failure of protection, and our responsibility to uphold international law. Sexual violence against women and girls is systematic. Deadly attacks against humanitarian workers are normalized.

"Atrocities are committed with unashamed expectation of impunity, driven by complete disregard of the most fundamental obligations of international humanitarian law," Fletcher said.

'Blood on the hands'

Stressing that children face "severe" risks, Fletcher said nearly one in five civilians killed in El-Fasher this month were children, and 90% of children across Sudan lack access to formal education.

Fletcher urged the Security Council and UN member states to take “immediate and robust action” to stop atrocities, ensure unimpeded humanitarian access and hold perpetrators accountable.

"I urge colleagues to study the latest satellite imagery of El-Fasher. Blood on the sand. I urge colleagues to study the world’s continued failure to stop this. Blood on the hands," he said.

He questioned the international community’s apparent resignation and called for renewed moral and diplomatic leadership.

"My simple question to the Council, and to all of us working on this broken effort, is: what is it about this crisis that makes it so hard?

"Is this really too hard for us? Where is our diplomacy? Where are our values? Where is our charter? Where is our conscience?" Fletcher said.

The conflict between the army and the RSF, which began in April 2023, has claimed more than 20,000 lives and displaced 14 million, according to the UN and local authorities.