(REUTERS/Mohamed Nureldin Abdallah)A worshipper arrives to attend Sunday prayers in Baraka Parish church at Hajj Yusuf, on the outskirts of Khartoum, February 10, 2013. Sudan's President Omar Hassan al-Bashir said he wanted to adopt a '100 percent' Islamic constitution. The government said its new constitution would guarantee religious freedom, but many Christians were wary due to a crackdown. Picture taken February 10, 2013.
The World Council of Churches has added its voice to UN agencies expressing grave concern over reports from El Fasher, in Sudan, following the recent capture of the city by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces.
WCC general secretary Rev. Jerry Pillay released a statement after reports emerged from El Fasher in North Darfur about the new development in the war that has been waged for more than two years.
"Accounts given by people who have escaped from the latest violence, as well as other reports, indicate ethnically-motivated mass killings, other war crimes and crimes against humanity, and widespread destruction in the city," said Pillay.
"Drone strikes, artillery shelling, and attacks on civilian areas—including mosques, displacement camps, and shelters—are widely reported, and represent a devastating escalation of human suffering in the region."
The Sudan conflict, which began on April 15, 2023, is a civil war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and shows no signs of abating.
Among other atrocities was an attack on a mosque in El Fasher's Al-Daraja neighborhood, where displaced persons from the Abu Shouk camp had sought refuge.
"Such acts are morally indefensible and constitute grave violations of international humanitarian law and human rights," said Pillay. "We appeal for the preservation and protection of lives and communities in the region."
Pillay expressed solidarity with the people, churches, and religious communities of Sudan who continue to endure unimaginable hardship amid conflict, displacement, and hunger.
"We urge the international community, the African Union, and regional organizations to intensify diplomatic and humanitarian efforts to end the violence, protect civilians, and ensure adequate humanitarian assistance to all those displaced and otherwise affected by the violence," said Pillay.
The fighting between the Sudanese army and the RSF that began in 2023 has killed more than 20,000 people and displaced 14 million, according to the UN and local authorities.
Research from US universities, however, estimates the death toll at around 130,000, according to All Africa Global News.
Speaking at a UN Press Conference earlier in the week, UN Human Rights Office spokesperson Ravina Shamdasani said, "It is an extremely precarious situation, and the risk of further large-scale, ethnically motivated violations and atrocities is mounting by the day."
She said that the Human Rights Office has received reports of the summary execution of civilians trying to flee, and of people no longer participating in hostilities.
Most of the more than 50 million people in Sudan are Sunni Muslims, but there is a small Christian minority.