Prime Business Africa
Mirjana Spoljaric, the president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), has lamented the humanitarian catastrophe unfolding in Al Fasher and other parts of Sudan, dscribing it as “appalling abuse of the rules of war.
In a statemnt issued by the ICRC and made available to Prime Business Africa, Spoljaric said, “The appalling abuses of the rules of war we are witnessing in Sudan are indefensible. No patient should be killed in a hospital, and no civilian shot while trying to flee their home. These horrific attacks must stop and international humanitarian law must be respected.”
The ICRC noted that the world has turned a blind eye while civilians in Sudan have endured “unthinkable horror”. Spoljaric stressed that the ICRC had repeatedly called on the parties to the conflict to respect international humanitarian law, “yet it continues to be violated with impunity.”
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Civilians are enduring brutal attacks, Spoljaric said, noting that rampant sexual violence and the deliberate destruction of essential services, mean that “facilities once dedicated to saving lives have become scenes of death and destruction.
“We have been demanding that attacks on humanitarian and medical personnel stop. Yet just this week in North Kordofan, five of our colleagues from the Sudanese Red Crescent Society were killed. Leaders must now show political courage to stop the killing and ensure that parties to the conflict return to the rules of war. All states have the obligation not only to uphold international humanitarian law in their own conduct but also ensure that others do the same.”
According to the ICRC president, lives in Sudan now depend on strong and decisive action to stop these atrocities. “The world cannot stand by as civilians are stripped of safety and dignity, and the rules of war meant to protect them are trampled.”
