This week, Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) aims to hold Rwanda accountable for war. Humanitarian workers killed in South Sudan. NGOs call for international action in Sudan’s el-Obeid.
DRC Aims to Hold Rwanda Accountable for War
The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) aims to hold Rwanda accountable for the war in DRC’s eastern region. On June 26, the DRC filed a case against Rwanda at the International Criminal Court (ICJ).
DRC accuses Rwanda of breaking multiple treaties and supporting armed groups on its territory. DRC justice minister Guillaume Andali said DRC is seeking accountability for alleged breaches of conventions on genocide prevention, racial discrimination, women’s rights, and torture.
In a statement, the ICJ said the application that the DRC filed concerns “abuses attributable to Rwanda over a period extending from 1996 to the present day.” The abuses, it says, “have primarily targeted Hutus present on Zairian, and subsequently Congolese, territory following the genocide against the Tutsi in 1994” in Rwanda.
In 2024, the UN Security Council found that Rwanda was backing the M23 rebel group in eastern DRC, however, Rwanda continues to deny this. Control over minerals in the DRC is at the heart of much of the conflict.
Humanitarian Workers Killed in South Sudan
On June 29, five humanitarian workers were killed in South Sudan in an ambush while riding in a convoy in Duk county. UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric said in a news conference, “We join our resident and humanitarian coordinator Ramanathan Balakrishnan in strongly condemning the attack.”
Dujarric called for a “prompt investigation” into the attack, stressing that it violated international law.
South Sudan’s conflict between the military, loyal to president Salva Kiir, and insurgents believed to be allied with the suspended vice-president Riek Machar, has caused mass death and destruction for civilians. The country has roughly 330,000 refugees and asylum-seekers (mainly from Sudan), and 2 million internally displaced persons due to conflict.
NGOs Call for International Action in Sudan’s El-Obeid
On June 26, 38 NGOs called for international action in Sudan’s city of el-Obeid. The NGOs released a letter urging the UN Human Rights Council to take “bold steps towards atrocity prevention and accountability” in the city.
The letter demands that the council convene an urgent debate, send a fact-finding mission, strengthen accountability for all violations committed in Sudan, and end the impunity of perpetrators and their supporters and enablers. The letter added that el-Obeid has faced 18 months of “siege-like conditions” and is “at risk of an imminent ground offensive by the … RSF and their allied forces.”
Since the letter was released, the RSF has hit el-Obeid with drone attacks, damaging schools and a site housing internally displaced persons (IDPs).
Sudan’s warring leaders of both the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF are delaying peace for suffering civilians in el-Obeid. Both parties are fighting for absolute victory, and experts disagree on which side is more responsible for civilian suffering in the city.
While Sudanese academic Fathi Abu Ammar told Al Jazeera that the SAF is primarily responsible for the prolonged suffering by obstructing peace initiatives and refusing to establish safe corridors for civilians to leave. He also accused the SAF of using civilians as ‘human shields,’ and said the RSF was fighting to address real grievances. However, Sudanese journalist and political analyst Yousef Abdel Mannan rejected these claims, saying the RSF had committed widespread atrocities, including recent attacks on a girls’ school and a hospital. He added that people were not being held hostage by the army, but preferred to remain in their homes rather than be displaced by paramilitaries.
Keywords: peace, conflict, conflict resolution, DRC, Congo, South Sudan, Sudan, el-Obeid, Rwanda
Tara Abhasakun
Tara Abhasakun is Peace News Network (PNN)'s managing editor. She is journalist based in Christchurch, New Zealand, and formerly in Bangkok, Thailand. She has reported on a range of human rights issues involving youth protests in Thailand, as well as arts and culture. Tara's work has appeared in several outlets, including Al Jazeera and South China Morning Post.
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