LETTER TO PRESIDENT BIDEN
Act Now to Protect Civilians in El Fasher
Dear President Biden,
The crisis in Sudan has worsened and we are on the verge of more grave violations in the Sudanese city of El Fasher if you do not act with urgency. Thousands of civilian deaths are predicted to be imminent in and around El Fasher in the coming days.
We, the undersigned individuals and organizations, urge you to take immediate steps to address this crisis. Since April 2023, the ongoing fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) has devastated the country, with countless atrocities and millions forcibly displaced and in dire need of humanitarian assistance.
In December 2023, Secretary of State Antony Blinken made an official atrocity determination on Sudan, acknowledging that members of the SAF have committed war crimes and that members of the RSF and allied militias have committed war crimes, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing. Decades of impunity has emboldened the warring parties to continue to commit crimes. The ethnic-based targeted killing in Darfur, in particular, echoes the atrocities in Darfur that caught the world’s attention some 20 years ago. Despite the international community’s wide condemnation of the actions of the SAF and RSF, there has been insufficient substantive action to halt the violence against civilians, stop the widespread hunger and suffering, or seek justice and accountability. The humanitarian crisis continues to grow.
More immediately, civilians are caught in the escalating violence in Sudan’s capital of North Darfur, El Fasher. The international community must act urgently to prevent atrocities in El Fasher and its surrounding villages, to protect civilians and must ensure perpetrators are held to account. El Fasher is home to over 1.5 million people, including hundreds of thousands of internally displaced people (IDPs) who have sought safety from violence in other parts of Darfur. These civilians are now trapped inside the city with no means of protection. Your failure to act now will likely result in the warring parties engaging in widespread violations of international humanitarian law in the coming days and weeks.
We urge you to take the following steps immediately:
- Personally speak out on Sudan, condemn the actions of the perpetrators and call for the protection of civilians in El Fasher and throughout Sudan.
- Directly engage governments who are arming the leaders of RSF and SAF to demand that they respect the arms embargo on Darfur.
- Engage and support the governments of neighboring countries to ensure urgently needed aid and refuge is offered and sustained to those fleeing hunger and violence in Sudan.
- Prioritize life-saving assistance to respond to the rapidly growing humanitarian crisis, including support to local actors.
The people of Sudan are suffering. You have a responsibility to act on El Fasher now.