UN: At Least 6,000 Killed in RSF Assault on el‑Fasher, Darfur

Lead: A United Nations human rights report says more than 6,000 people were killed over a three‑day span during a late‑October offensive by the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on el‑Fasher, the provincial capital of North Darfur. The U.N. Human Rights Office attributes mass killings, summary executions, widespread sexual violence, abductions and large‑scale detention to RSF fighters and allied Arab militias. The offensive, which culminated on Oct. 26 during an assault on the city after an 18‑month siege, prompted international condemnation and renewed calls for accountability. The report finds patterns of conduct that the U.N. says amount to war crimes and may amount to crimes against humanity.

Key Takeaways

• The U.N. Human Rights Office report, 29 pages in length, documents at least 4,400 deaths inside el‑Fasher between Oct. 25 and Oct. 27, 2025, and more than 1,600 killed while fleeing, for a combined three‑day toll exceeding 6,000 people.
• The U.N. says attacks included mass killings, summary executions, sexual violence, abductions for ransom, torture, arbitrary detention and enforced disappearances; many incidents were ethnicity‑motivated.
• A single incident in the Rashid dormitory at el‑Fasher university on Oct. 26 is reported to have left roughly 500 dead out of about 1,000 people sheltering there; a separate execution of roughly 600 people, including 50 children, was also reported that day.
• The World Health Organization reports at least 460 people killed when RSF fighters stormed the Saudi Maternity Hospital on Oct. 28; the U.N. cautions the true death toll of the wider offensive is likely higher.
• The report is based on interviews with 140 victims and witnesses and cross‑checked with contemporaneous satellite imagery and video analysis, according to the U.N.
• The RSF and allied Janjaweed militias overran el‑Fasher — the Sudanese army’s last Darfur stronghold — on Oct. 26 after more than 18 months of siege stemming from the broader conflict that began in April 2023.
• The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, said the scale and brutality of abuses point to persistent impunity and urged accountability for commanders and fighters involved.

Background

The fighting that produced this mass‑casualty event stems from a power struggle that exploded into open war in April 2023 between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF, a paramilitary force that grew out of earlier militia networks. Over the ensuing years, Darfur became a principal theater of violence; communities were besieged, camps for the displaced were repeatedly attacked and access for humanitarian organizations was severely constrained.

El‑Fasher, the capital of North Darfur, had been under siege for roughly 18 months before the October offensive. The RSF, together with allied Arab militias commonly referred to as Janjaweed, have been accused in multiple episodes across Darfur of targeting non‑Arab African groups, conduct that international bodies have said warrants investigation for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

International institutions, including the International Criminal Court, have announced investigations into alleged atrocities in the ongoing conflict. Meanwhile, humanitarian agencies warn that the war created the world’s largest humanitarian crisis, with localized famine and millions internally displaced.

Main Event

The U.N. report traces a concentrated three‑day assault inside el‑Fasher between Oct. 25 and Oct. 27, 2025, during which RSF units and allied militias advanced into civilian neighborhoods and sites sheltering displaced people. Eyewitness accounts collected by the U.N. describe heavy weapons, indiscriminate firing and door‑to‑door violence targeting people by ethnicity and apparent perceived affiliation with the army.

One of the report’s most harrowing incident summaries describes gunfire directed into the Rashid dormitory at el‑Fasher university on Oct. 26, where about 1,000 people had sought refuge. The U.N. estimates around 500 casualties in that single strike and recounts witness testimony of bodies thrown into the air during the attack.

The U.N. also documents executions of large groups taking shelter in university facilities on Oct. 26 — some 600 people, including children, were reportedly killed — and mass abductions carried out for ransom as civilians attempted to flee the city. Thousands were detained in at least 10 facilities the report attributes to RSF control, including the city’s Children’s Hospital, which the U.N. says was used as a detention site.

Beyond el‑Fasher, the U.N. report links the pattern of violence to previous RSF offensives that hit Zamzam camp, parts of West Darfur such as Geneina and nearby Ardamata in 2023, illustrating a repeated tactic of besiegement, advance and mass atrocities against displaced and settled communities alike.

Analysis & Implications

The scale and nature of the abuses documented in el‑Fasher carry both legal and practical implications. Legally, the U.N. characterization — that the acts constitute war crimes and may amount to crimes against humanity — strengthens the case for international criminal investigation and for targeted measures against those credibly implicated. Practically, the near‑complete collapse of local protection and a breakdown of rule of law in areas seized by the RSF complicate the delivery of aid and the preservation of evidence.

The U.N.’s reliance on victim and witness interviews corroborated by satellite imagery and open‑source video is intended to bolster credibility; nevertheless, prosecuting commanders and fighters will face hurdles including access to survivors, witness protection, evidence transfer and the political will of states. Persistent impunity, the U.N. warns, risks entrenching cycles of retaliatory violence.

Regionally, the offensive deepens displacement flows and risks spillover into neighboring areas of Darfur and beyond, pressuring humanitarian corridors already strained by insecurity. Economically, continued hostilities and mass displacement will prolong disruptions to markets, farming cycles and cross‑border trade, worsening food insecurity and the prospect of prolonged famine in vulnerable localities.

For international policy, the report could increase pressure on states to expand sanctions, pursue targeted accountability measures and intensify support for international investigations. Whether that pressure translates into effective deterrence depends on international coordination and the willingness of local powerbrokers to allow independent inquiry and humanitarian access.

Comparison & Data

These figures are drawn from the U.N. Human Rights Office report and World Health Organization situation summaries cited by the U.N. The U.N. cautions the documented numbers are minimums; gaps in access and ongoing insecurity mean many deaths and disappearances may not yet be recorded.

Reactions & Quotes

The U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights framed the attacks as an alarming example of how impunity sustains violence and called for accountability at multiple command levels.

“The 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.”

Volker Türk, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (official statement)

A survivor’s testimony, cited in the report, described scenes inside the university dormitory that aid workers and investigators later corroborated with imagery and video evidence.

“I saw bodies thrown into the air — like a scene out of a horror movie,”

Witness interviewed by U.N. investigators (survivor testimony)

International institutions reiterated investigative actions: the International Criminal Court and human rights monitors indicated they are reviewing incidents across Darfur, while humanitarian agencies warned the assault aggravated an already catastrophic crisis.

Unconfirmed

• The exact cumulative death toll for the week‑long offensive remains uncertain; the U.N. report describes its total as a minimum and warns the true figure is likely higher.
• Some individual incident attributions rely primarily on witness testimony and open‑source imagery; access constraints mean not every allegation has been independently verified on the ground.
• The ultimate chain of command for some units involved in specific killings and detentions has not been fully established in public records available to investigators.

Bottom Line

The U.N. finding that more than 6,000 people died during the RSF’s late‑October assault on el‑Fasher marks one of the deadliest short‑term episodes in Sudan’s ongoing war and underscores a pattern of tactics that human rights bodies say may constitute international crimes. Those documented in the report — mass executions, sexual violence, abductions and detention — heighten the urgency for credible international inquiry and mechanisms to protect witnesses and preserve evidence.

Even if legal processes advance, the humanitarian and security consequences are immediate: continued displacement, disrupted aid delivery and a deepening crisis of food insecurity. Absent sustained, coordinated international pressure and improved access for investigators and humanitarians, the cycle of mass atrocity and impunity the U.N. warns about is likely to continue, with grave regional implications.

Sources

• NBC News (media) — story summarizing Associated Press reporting and the U.N. report
• U.N. Human Rights Office (official) — press releases and human rights reporting
• World Health Organization (official) — situation updates and hospital attack data
• International Criminal Court (official) — investigations and statements
• The Associated Press (news agency) — original reporting credited in coverage