RSF-aligned gov’t rejects UN fact-finding report as biased

The paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) aligned government, the Sudan Founding Alliance (Tasees) has rejected a report by the UN fact-finding mission on Sudan, accusing it of bias and ignoring alleged crimes committed by the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF).

The alliance said it remains ready to cooperate with international human rights mechanisms and reaffirmed its commitment to international human rights and international criminal law.

The report, presented to the Human Rights Council on Monday, cited a cross-border network involving the UAE, Chad, Libya and Puntland that allegedly supports the RSF with weapons. It also referred to crimes committed in El Fasher.

Tasees spokesperson Ahmed Tagad Lisan, said in a statement seen by Radio Dabanga that the report contained “fundamental systematic defects” that undermine its conclusions and legal credibility.

He criticised the mission’s reliance on remote testimonies and interviews conducted away from the locations of alleged violations, saying investigators had failed to conduct direct field inspections.

Tasees accuses report of ignoring SAF violations

Tasees accused the report of systematically overlooking alleged violations by the SAF and allied militias, including the alleged use of internationally banned chemical weapons.

Tagad Lisan said the report failed to provide a balanced assessment of responsibility. He pointed to alleged massacres in El Gezira state, Sennar, Suki, Singa and El Dinder, as well as the Haj Yousif, Mayo, El Salih and El Halfaya neighbourhoods of the capital following the SAF’s entry.

He accused SAF forces and allied militias of carrying out “clean-up operations” involving the execution of hundreds of civilians, destruction of homes and farms, forced displacement and looting.

Tasees said the omission of these alleged crimes raised questions about the report’s neutrality.

Tasees accuses mission of bias

Tasees also accused the report of presenting a one-sided account of foreign involvement in the war.

It said the report highlighted alleged support for its forces from Chad, south-eastern Libya, Puntland, the UAE and Colombia, while failing to mention countries it said support the SAF, including Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Türkiye, Qatar, Iran, Algeria and Eritrea.

Tasees also criticised the report for mentioning Colombian recruits fighting alongside its forces while allegedly omitting references to Eritrean military bases, Ethiopian forces, Egyptian forces and other foreign elements fighting alongside the SAF and allied militias.

Tasees called for the report’s conclusions to be reviewed and for a direct field investigation under international supervision covering all conflict zones. It also called for investigators to hear from all parties and examine documented violations committed by all sides.