RSF commander in Central Darfur threatens Zalingei displaced
RSF commander in Central Darfur threatens Zalingei displaced
Four examples of incitement against Darfur civilians
The Rapid Support Forces (RSF) published a video August 4th inciting violence against the residents of the displaced camps around Zalingei, Central Darfur.
The video, published by official RSF accounts, shows a 3-minute speech by General Ali Yagoub Jibril, commander of the RSF forces in Central Darfur, who said that the army’s 21st Division withdrew from Zalingei and is “present among the displaced, they withdrew all their forces inside the IDP camps.”
This statement fits with a pattern of rhetoric characterizing civilian populations as legitimate military targets, as a way of justifying horrific attacks against them, as happened in Al Jeneina, Mornei, Sirba, and elsewhere.
As with most instances of incitement, this one is implicit rather than direct. The Rapid Support Forces have attacked the camps around Zalingei before, and they may do so again. Because of the former war in Darfur, there are several large camps around Zalingei, pre-dating the current conflict. The residents belong to …