United Nations experts have stated that an 18-month siege and mass killings by Sudanese rebels in Darfur bear the hallmarks of genocide. The Rapid Support Force (RSF) paramilitaries are accused of committing atrocities and human rights abuses during their seizure of el-Fasher, which began in 2023 and concluded in October 2024.
The conflict involved Arab militias reportedly attempting to destroy non-Arab communities, leading to the deaths of over half the population in the city, according to an independent fact-finding mission.
According to the report, rebel commanders "calculated to bring about the physical destruction" of non-Arab groups, specifically the Zaghawa and Fur communities. UN officials estimate several thousand civilians were killed when the RSF and allied paramilitary groups overran el-Fasher, the Sudanese army's last stronghold in Darfur.
Of the city's 260,000 residents, only 40% managed to escape the assault alive, with thousands wounded. The fate of the remaining population is unknown.
The report details "thousands of persons, particularly the Zaghawa, were killed, raped or disappeared during three days of absolute horror." It also notes that "wanton violations that were perpetrated by the RSF and allied Arab militia in the final offensive on el-Fasher underscore that persistent impunity fuels continued cycles of violence."
British Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper has called for urgent international action, including criminal investigations, to ensure accountability and justice for victims. She is expected to raise the report at a UN Security Council meeting.
Sudan has been embroiled in conflict since April 2023, when tensions between military and paramilitary leaders escalated. The RSF and allied militias are accused of mass killings, summary executions, sexual violence, torture, and abductions during the offensive on el-Fasher.
The UN fact-finding mission identified at least three of the five criteria outlined in the Genocide Convention as being met by the RSF's actions: killing members of a protected ethnic group, causing serious bodily or mental harm, and deliberately inflicting conditions of life calculated to bring about the group's physical destruction.