Sudan’s el-Fasher ‘a crime scene’ after RSF takeover: UN aid chief

The UN’s aid chief claims that Sudan’s el-Fasher has been transformed into a “crime scene” as it is pressed by the UN to gain access to the city after it fell to the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) last month.

The western Darfur region was described as “an absolute horror show,” according to Tom Fletcher, who recently wrapped up a trip there.

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In a campaign that rights organizations and witnesses claim included widespread sexual violence and kidnappings, the RSF seized control of the state’s capital, El-Fasher, in late October.

In a video, Fletcher stated, “I spent a week in Darfur, which is now the epicenter of human suffering in the world.”

According to the evaluations of numerous survivors, El-Fasher is essentially a crime location. We need to stop deliberate attacks on civilians and bring these crimes to justice, as I’ve heard so many stories of them.

“Naked cruelty”

Fletcher’s remarks come shortly after the UN Human Rights Council ordered an investigation into “atrocities” committed in El-Fasher, which had fallen on October 26 from an 18-month siege.

As the council passed a resolution ordering the investigation, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk stated on Friday that “the international community has a clear duty to act.”

“There was too much pretense, performance, and little action,” the statement read. It must stand up to these atrocities, which are intended to systematically oppress and rule over a whole population.

Any such incidents, according to the RSF, are carried out by rogue actors, the organization claims. However, evidence suggests that the armed group committed numerous mass killings, according to the UN, human rights organizations, and other observers.

Hundreds of thousands of residents of El-Fasher are reportedly trapped and without access to aid, healthcare, and other essential supplies, according to UN officials.

More than 100 000 people have reportedly fled the city to nearby towns and displacement camps since the RSF seized control of El-Fasher from the Sudanese Armed Forces, according to the most recent UN figures.

While American researchers claim satellite images suggest RSF forces are burying bodies in mass graves, survivors have described seeing bodies lining the streets.

The paramilitary group has been expanding its presence eastward into the nearby Kordofan region, where the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has reported “intensified air strikes, drone attacks, and heavy troop mobilization since early November.”

According to an update from UNHCR, residents of the towns of Babanousa, Dilling, and Kadugli have been besieged because their access to food, water, and health care is “roast deteriorating.”

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Despite ceasefires in Gaza and Lebanon, the war isn’t over for Netanyahu

The largest Palestinian refugee camp in Lebanon was Israel’s target on Tuesday. At least 13 people were killed by the two missiles that its forces fired. Another person was killed in a drone attack in Bint Jbeil on the same day. Israeli airstrikes also hit southern Lebanon’s villages the following day.

Israeli drone attacks and airstrikes continue in Gaza. As a result of Israel’s attack on Rafah and Khan Younis, at least one person was killed on Wednesday.

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Despite ceasefire agreements in both Lebanon and Gaza and President Trump’s major declaration that the Middle East is now at peace, the attacks have occurred.

However, Israel’s conflict with the region is still ongoing, according to Benjamin Netanyahu, the prime minister.

Netanyahu claimed that Israel’s enemies are rearming in a speech to Israel’s parliament on November 10 one month after a ceasefire ostensibly entered Gaza.

Israel’s more than two years of fighting in Gaza should have come to an end with a ceasefire, but the attacks continue. Since then, Israel has killed more than 280 Palestinians.

Gaza is not the only place Israel’s war is. Israel has killed more than 100 people in Lebanon in the past year despite a ceasefire with Lebanon on November 27, 2024, and Israeli attacks continue in the occupied West Bank.

Israel is constantly attacking.

Given Israel’s ongoing attacks on residents of the area, Netanyahu’s words come as no surprise. Prior to the signing of the ceasefires, according to analysts, the precedent was already established.

According to Elia Ayoub, a researcher studying Lebanon and Palestine, there was never any proof that the Israelis would follow the ceasefire in Gaza or Lebanon.

Ayoub continued, “Netanyahu can rely on the lack of international accountability to continue his war against civilians, especially with the support of the US.”

In Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, on October 13, 2025, Trump and political figures from more than 20 countries gathered to support peace in Gaza and the surrounding area.

Trump stated, “We finally have peace in the Middle East.”

However, Israel’s attacks on both Gaza and Lebanon almost daily continue, less than a month later.

Since October 7, Israel’s genocidal war against Gaza has claimed 69 Palestinian lives on Wednesday, November 19.

In recent months, Israeli human rights organizations and world leaders had begun to pressure Israel into waging a genocide against it due to its war against Gaza.

However, it appears that the pressure on Israel has decreased since the Sharm El Sheikh summit and the general announcement of a ceasefire.

People from areas where Israel is still attacking are unable to return to their lives or rebuild their homes in Gaza and Lebanon.

Israel has also stopped a significant portion of the aid provided to Palestinians in the enclave in the case of Gaza, for example.

There is no reason to believe anyone in Lebanon or Palestine is safe from Israel, Ayoub said, as long as Netanyahu expects impunity.

Why isn’t the conflict over?

According to Rida Abu Rass, a Palestinian political scientist, Netanyahu’s recent comments demonstrate that he is “determined to keep Israel in a perpetual state of war.”

Israel has occasionally called for the end of the war through protests. However, the majority of them were centered on demands for the release of the Israeli prisoners who were still imprisoned in Gaza. All three of the captives’ living bodies have been found, but Hamas is reportedly looking for the remains of three more.

Netanyahu asserts that the conflict must continue because Israel’s allies are regrouping.

“We are rearming those who want to harm us,” he says. In his address to the Knesset, Netanyahu remarked, “They did not give up on their goal of destroying us.”

Netanyahu claims that his goal of destroying Hamas has not yet been realized despite the widespread destruction of Gaza. Hezbollah is rebuilding, according to Israeli officials and the media, despite analysts’ claims that it is not positioned to attack Israel.

Netanyahu’s justifications for continuing the war are doubted by experts. They think Netanyahu’s stated objectives, which were intentionally unachievable, were necessary to maintain the conflict and avoid both domestic and international accountability.

His political career hangs in the balance because his far-right coalition partners see a historic opportunity to advance their vision of a Palestine that has been ethnically cleansed, according to Abu Rass.

The narrative that the war is still ongoing is being conveyed by Netanyahu to his supporters and coalition partners.

Netanyahu is facing corruption charges in three Israeli courts. Due to the war, the cases have repeatedly been delayed, with courts citing “national security priorities.”

According to Rob Geist Pinfold, a lecturer in international security at King’s College London, “Keeping Israel on a constant war footing is good for [Netanyahu] because it allows him to continue thwarting his trial and the demands of his far-right coalition to reshape Israel’s internal governing principles, which caused him so much trouble in the past,”

He reportedly fears any investigation into Hamas and other Palestinian factions’ failures to stop the operation on October 7, 2023. According to analysts, Netanyahu also has a long game.

He has consistently worked to expand settlement and replace Palestinians throughout his career. The war gave him an opportunity to advance these objectives, according to Abu Rass.

Israeli Prime Minister Yoav Gallant and his former defense minister Yoav Gallant are wanted on international arrest warrants for their crimes in Gaza.

According to Ayoub, “I view the so-called ceasefires as gaslighting campaigns that indefinitely delay accountability.”

Netanyahu’s remarks demonstrate that the terms of the ceasefire are not being used widely, according to Ayoub.

“You cease, we fire,” is the Israeli strategy, to put it simply. And the Israelis simply increase what they’re already doing by responding to any actor.

As the international community shifts its attention away from Gaza, these attacks appear to be going on. Violence still persisted in both locations and the occupied West Bank, despite ceasefires in both Lebanon and Gaza that have reduced the frequency and ferocity of attacks. According to analysts, these conditions will persist until the root cause is identified.

According to Abu Rass, “international stakeholders – governments, civil society organizations, and media must continue to exert pressure on the US and Israeli governments.”