Today, Saturday, the Coordination of Civilian Democratic Forces in Sudan (Taqaddum) held the Rapid Support Forces responsible for protecting civilians in Al-Jazeera State in the center of the country.
The Coordination Committee said in a statement that it followed reports of what it called “massive violations” against civilians in a number of areas of the state by the support forces and what it described as the forced displacement of the citizens of those villages.
“Unacceptable or unjustifiable crimes”
The Coordination Committee considered “the measures taken in those areas towards their civilian population as unacceptable or justified crimes” and a violation of the obligations signed between it and the Rapid Support Forces in the Addis Ababa Joint Declaration last January.
She also added, “Accordingly, the Rapid Support Forces, based on this responsibility, must acknowledge these crimes and fully commit to not repeating these violations, stop them immediately and decisively, and take transparent and public measures towards all perpetrators of violations, bring them to a public and fair trial, and redress and compensate the victims.”
The Sudanese Congress Party said in a statement today that “unarmed civilians in Al-Jazeera region are exposed to various types of crimes against humanity and systematic violations, since the Rapid Support Forces took control of the state and its capital is the city of Wad Madani.”
The party pointed out that “these crimes varied between the complete invasion of some villages and the displacement of their residents, the theft of property, attacks on civilians, the loss of the lives of a number of innocent people, and the forced disappearance of others, in addition to exorbitant levies and the collection of money without legal or moral support, in addition to these atrocities extending to include a number of… Villages adjacent to Sennar.
Gezira State
The Rapid Support Forces took control of Al-Jazira State last December after the army withdrew from the city of Wad Madani, the state capital, after clashes that lasted several days.
Fighting broke out between the Sudanese army and the Rapid Support Forces in mid-April after weeks of tension between the two parties, while the military and civilian parties were putting the final touches on an internationally supported political process.
Source: Al-Hadath.net
