Al-Hilaliya is not a military target; rather, it’s sheer pillaging and lootin

The Face of Truth

Ibrahim Shglawi

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For the past two weeks, the rebel Rapid Support Forces (RSF) militia has targeted civilians, imposing a complete siege on the city of Al-Hilaliya with the intent to loot and steal citizens’ wealth, a practice locally known as “pillaging and looting.” There is no military target or army presence in this city to justify the militia’s entry, aside from robbery, theft, and assaults on women.

The militia committed a horrific massacre, with the current death toll exceeding 200 unarmed civilians, killed either by gunfire or due to the siege. Just recently, Al-Hilaliya was a peaceful, tranquil city, but it has now turned into a place filled with sorrow and devastation, suffering under the wounds and humanitarian disaster inflicted by the RSF siege. Every morning, the city buries its families and citizens in the face of what has become a genuine humanitarian catastrophe impacting innocent civilians mercilessly. This crisis has not been limited to the people of Al-Hilaliya alone; it has also affected the villages of Kamleen locality and the entire eastern Jazira region, which the RSF has overrun.

Clearly, the situation has reached the point of a humanitarian catastrophe that requires the world to assume its responsibility by designating this militia as a terrorist organization due to its ongoing murder and intimidation of civilians. It is therefore essential to pursue its leaders, political allies, and regional partners, bringing them to international justice for the war crimes and crimes against humanity they have committed across much of the country.

The defection of the RSF commander in Jazira State, Abu Aqila Kikel, and his joining the Sudanese army last October triggered retaliatory actions by the RSF against civilians, as the area was previously under his protection. These violations extended throughout eastern Jazira and its major cities, including Rufaa, Tambul, Alsireeha, Qili, Hassahisa, and previously Wad Noor and surrounding villages, resulting in dozens of deaths and the displacement of tens of thousands. In response to this tragedy, the Preliminary Committee of the Sudanese Doctors’ Union announced yesterday that the death toll in Al-Hilaliya in Jazira, besieged by the RSF, has risen to over 200, with 20 of them reportedly shot dead.

The Sudanese Foreign Ministry also issued a statement revealing the massacre in Al-Hilaliya in eastern Jazira, noting that the systematic escalation of massacres and atrocities by the militia against civilians is aimed at provoking international military intervention in Sudan under the pretext of civilian protection. This intervention could help the militia avoid military defeat, retain the areas it occupies—including citizens’ homes—and continue detaining thousands of civilians as hostages in secret detention centers. Instead of yielding to this terrorist blackmail by the militia with the notion of international intervention, the world should designate the RSF as a terrorist group, pursue its leaders and members for international justice, and regard any party supporting or assisting the militia as complicit in these violations.

The Civil Forces Coordination, led by Abdullah Hamdok, also called for urgent intervention to rescue civilians trapped in conflict zones and provide them with necessary humanitarian aid. They demanded the formation of an international rescue committee to provide support, relief, and ensure that aid reaches those in need. Observers have harshly criticized this call, arguing that it would have been more effective to address the violations against residents of Jazira State villages and all of Sudan, had they renounced the Declaration of Principles signed in Addis Ababa with the militia last February. This agreement provided a political and media shield that allowed the militia to commit further brutal violations, despite stipulating civilian protection and opening safe corridors for humanitarian aid and the return of displaced people, which the militia failed to honor. The Coordination could also have condemned the militia’s occupation of Jazira villages, the displacement of their inhabitants, the violation of their sanctities and dignity, and the abuse of the elderly, demanding the militia’s immediate withdrawal from these safe villages and the delivery of humanitarian aid, instead of addressing violations without identifying and condemning the perpetrators. Such an approach amounts to endorsing the siege on civilians and legitimizing occupation.

Accordingly, the truth here emphasizes that if the international community is truly committed to halting violations and protecting human rights, it is crucial and necessary to classify the militia as a terrorist organization. The United Nations, the Red Cross, the Red Crescent, the African Union, and the Arab League must shoulder their responsibilities and intervene to help put an end to these brutal acts targeting civilian populations. This would hold the RSF accountable for its criminal actions. Furthermore, anyone providing support, political cover, or media backing to the RSF should be held accountable.

Security and peace cannot be restored without cooperation and solidarity among all concerned parties, first by condemning all regional actors involved in funding the militia and supplying it with weapons and fighters, and by removing political and media support, designating it as a terrorist organization. This is the roadmap that can halt RSF violations and restore security and peace. Therefore, the international community must assume its responsibilities toward Sudan and its people.

May you remain in good health and peace.

Saturday, November 9, 2024
Shglawi55@gmail.com