Mashad Observatory expresses its grave condemnation and strong denunciation of the horrific crime committed this morning by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their allied militias against more than 16 young men from North Darfur. This atrocity amounts to a clear act of ethnic cleansing and represents a flagrant violation of international humanitarian law, international human rights law, the protection principles enshrined in the Geneva Conventions, and the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.
Reliable information indicates that the victims had responded to the call of Mr. Al-Tahir Hajar. While attempting to flee the suffocating siege, indiscriminate shelling, and starvation ravaging civilians, they were apprehended by RSF elements, subjected to the most brutal forms of torture and ill-treatment, and then summarily executed by firing squad. This crime reflects the highest degree of savagery and moral depravity.
This heinous act adds to a long list of systematic and widespread violations perpetrated by the RSF and their allies, and clearly demonstrates a criminal pattern targeting a specific group based on identity, geographic origin, and population affiliation. This constitutes a direct violation of international prohibitions against ethnic cleansing and extrajudicial killings.
Mashad Observatory holds the RSF, their allied militias, and primarily the so-called Al-Tahir Hajar fully accountable—criminally, politically, and morally—for this heinous crime. It calls on the international community, in all its components, to break the silence, condemn these horrific violations, and take urgent action to protect the besieged civilians. The Observatory demands an immediate, independent, and transparent international investigation under UN supervision to document and examine this crime and all other atrocities committed in Darfur, and to ensure that the perpetrators are referred to international justice without delay.
Mashad Observatory urges the international community, the global and regional human rights systems, and international justice institutions to fulfill their moral and legal responsibilities in protecting Sudanese civilians, prosecuting those responsible for these crimes, delivering justice to victims and their families, and providing psychological, social, and legal support. The Observatory reiterates its call to all humanitarian and human rights organizations to stand in full solidarity with the Sudanese people and to work jointly toward ending impunity and achieving comprehensive justice.
Silence in the face of such barbaric crimes constitutes indirect complicity and a betrayal of the core principles upon which international justice is founded. Ignoring the escalating tragedy in Darfur threatens the collapse of the remaining international protection framework and legitimizes the return of genocide models whose humanitarian and moral consequences the world cannot afford.
