ISTANBUL

A Sudanese medical group on Wednesday accused the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of killing 16 unarmed civilians in the city of El-Fasher in North Darfur, alleging the attack was carried out on ethnic grounds.

In a statement, the Sudan Doctors Network said the victims, including three women, were executed by RSF-affiliated forces and buried in three separate mass grave sites on the outskirts of the city.

The group described the killings as a “heinous crime” and a “flagrant violation of international law and humanitarian principles.”

It said the killings reflect a continued pattern of targeting civilians based on identity and an escalation of systematic violence in the Darfur region.

The network called on the international community and human rights organizations to take urgent action to halt ongoing violations since October, which it said have displaced thousands of civilians, particularly women and children.

It held the RSF leadership fully responsible for the killings and urged stronger international intervention to stop the escalating violence and displacement of civilians.

There was no immediate comment from the RSF on the accusation.

Last October, the RSF seized El-Fasher and committed massacres against civilians, according to local and international organizations, amid warnings of a further geographical division of the country.

RSF commander Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo has acknowledged that his forces had committed “violations” in El-Fasher, claiming that investigation committees had been formed.

Alongside Darfur, Sudan’s three Kordofan states have seen intensified fighting in recent weeks between the army and RSF, forcing tens of thousands of civilians to flee.

Since April 2023, the Sudanese army and RSF have been engaged in a conflict over plans to integrate the paramilitary force into the military. The fighting has triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with tens of thousands killed and nearly 13 million people displaced.