Interview with Donatella Rovera, Crisis and Conflict Officer at Amnesty International: The unimaginable horror in Sudan
According to a recent report by Amnesty International entitled “Death has knocked at our door”, a situation of extreme violence is currently raging in Sudan. Civilians have been victims of “war crimes” during clashes between the army and paramilitaries since April 15, 2023. Indiscriminate and deliberate attacks against the civilian population are commonplace, as evidenced by the numerous deaths and injuries. The NGO reports widespread rape, kidnapping, looting and destruction in the Khartoum and Darfur region.
Donatella Rovera, in charge of crises and conflicts at Amnesty International, underlines that the abuses recorded are particularly shocking: civilians are deliberately killed, women and girls are victims of sexual violence, essential infrastructures are destroyed, thus depriving the civilian population access to food and medicine. This situation has pushed millions of Sudanese to flee their homes, taking refuge as best they can in other regions of the country or in neighboring countries, such as Chad.
If the responsibilities for war crimes seem mainly attributable to the paramilitaries of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and their allied militias, the Sudanese army is not exempt from all blame. The motives behind this violence are multiple, mixing inter-community violence and ethnic motivation. The impunity enjoyed by combatants also encourages the perpetuation of these violent acts, in particular sexual violence, which affects all regions affected by the conflict.
One of the reasons for the lack of protection of civilians by belligerents lies in the fact that they do not hesitate to fight in the midst of civilian populations, thus putting their lives in danger. Civilians have been killed and injured in their homes, in residential areas where fighting is raging. This implacable reality has disastrous consequences for the population, accentuating the suffering and distress of the Sudanese.
It is more than urgent to act in this situation. The Sudanese people deserve effective protection, justice for the crimes committed against them and urgent humanitarian support to meet vital needs