UN mission says both Sudan sides committed abuses, peacekeepers needed

Both sides in Sudan's civil war have committed abuses that may amount to war crimes, and world powers need to send in peacekeepers and widen an arms embargo to protect civilians, a UN-mandated mission said on Friday.

Sudan's army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have both raped and attacked civilians, used torture and made arbitrary arrests, according to the report that said it was based on 182 interviews with survivors, relatives and witnesses.

"The gravity of our findings and failure of the warring parties to protect civilians underscores the need for urgent and immediate intervention," the UN fact-finding mission's chair, Mohamed Chande Othman, told reporters.

Both sides have dismissed past accusations from the US and rights groups, and have accused each other of carrying out abuses. Neither immediately responded to requests for comment on Friday, or released a statement in response to the report.

Othman and the two other mission members called for an independent force to be deployed without delay.


Reuters