Sudan’s Darfur governor urges stronger ICC role in probing RSF atrocities across region

By Adel Abdelrheem and Mohammad Sio

KHARTOUM/ISTANBUL (AA) – Darfur Governor Minni Arko Minawi on Friday urged stronger backing for the International Criminal Court (ICC) to investigate crimes committed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in the western Sudanese region.

Last month, the RSF captured El-Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, amid reports of killings and atrocities against civilians.

“UN Security Council Resolution 1593 of 2005 grants the ICC authority to investigate crimes in Darfur without requiring a new mandate,” Minawi said in a post on the US social media company X.

“What is needed now is a new Security Council resolution to strengthen the court’s role in identifying perpetrators of international crimes in El-Geneina, El-Fasher, and other areas,” he added.

The Security Council adopted Resolution 1593 on March 31, 2005, referring the Darfur situation to the ICC and allowing the court to pursue Sudanese government, military, and tribal officials over killings, rape, displacement, and torture dating back to 2002.

Sudanese authorities and multiple international organizations accuse the RSF of committing mass killings in El-Geneina after the group seized the city in June 2023, an assault that left hundreds dead, including West Darfur Governor Khamis Abdullah Abakar, and displaced tens of thousands.

Heavy fighting has also gripped the three Kordofan states -- North, West and South -- in recent days between the Sudanese army and the RSF, displacing thousands.

The RSF currently controls all five states of the Darfur region except parts of northern North Darfur, which remain under army control. The military holds most territory in the remaining 13 Sudanese states across the south, north, east and center, including the capital, Khartoum.

Darfur makes up about one-fifth of Sudan’s territory, but most of the country’s 50 million people live in army-held areas.