Geneva: Iran's ambassador and permanent representative to the UN in Geneva has condemned the arms, financial, and military support provided by some foreign actors to Sudan's rebel paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), stressing that their backers should be held accountable for crimes committed against civilians in the African country.

According to Islamic Republic News Agency, Ali Bahreini, speaking at the UN Human Rights Council, expressed deep concern over the deteriorating humanitarian and human rights situation in Sudan. He emphasized that the international community's failure to respond effectively to the crisis has caused the disaster to spread from one region to another.

Bahreini specifically highlighted the situation in North Kordofan State and the city of El Obeid. The UN human rights chief has sounded a red alert about possible atrocity crimes in these areas, noting they are witnessing alarming patterns of human rights violations and violence against civilians similar to those in Darfur and El Fasher.

Bahreini called for full respect of international humanitarian law and insisted that all foreign actors must be held accountable for fueling the ongoing conflict with arms and financial support for the RSF. He stressed that such support has paved the way for serious violations of international humanitarian law, including the killing of civilians, torture, arbitrary detentions, and forced displacement.

The UN Human Rights Council in Geneva held an emergency meeting on Sudan amid a warning from High Commissioner Volker Trk. He cautioned that another human rights catastrophe was unfolding in the city of El Obeid in North Kordofan following the killing of approximately 6,000 people by the Rapid Support Forces in the city of El Fasher.