Sudan civil war: RSF war crimes saw 6,000 killed in three days in el-Fasher, UN says

Lead

Last October, Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) overran the city of el‑Fasher in Darfur, and a UN investigation drawing on survivor and witness testimony reports roughly 6,000 people were killed in an initial three‑day period. The UN Human Rights Office collected testimony from more than 140 victims and witnesses in Sudan’s Northern state and in eastern Chad in late 2025. The report says at least 4,400 people died inside the city and over 1,600 were killed along exit routes as civilians fled. The findings have intensified international scrutiny of the RSF and renewed calls for accountability and protection of civilians.

Key Takeaways

• The UN report cites approximately 6,000 deaths in a three‑day assault on el‑Fasher in October, including at least 4,400 inside the city and more than 1,600 along escape routes.
• El‑Fasher endured an 18‑month siege prior to the assault, contributing to constrained humanitarian access and large civilian concentrations in shelters.
• More than 140 victims and witnesses provided testimony to UN investigators in late 2025 in both Sudan and eastern Chad.
• The broader Sudan conflict has lasted nearly three years, has killed hundreds of thousands, and displaced over 13 million people.
• The UN report documents widespread sexual violence used as a weapon of war against men, women and children in the conflict.
• The United States and Human Rights Watch have described RSF actions in parts of Darfur as genocidal against Massalit and other non‑Arab communities, while recent UN documents have not legally adopted that label.
• International responses include UK sanctions last week on six individuals alleged to be fuelling the war and continuing debate over external arms flows to combatants.

Background

Sudan has been locked in a contest for national control between the regular Sudanese Armed Forces and the RSF for almost three years. The RSF evolved from militias linked to earlier Darfur counterinsurgency campaigns and has become a political and military actor with regional ties. Darfur itself has long been a theater of intercommunal violence and large‑scale human rights abuses since the early 2000s, leaving deep grievances and fractured local governance.

El‑Fasher, a major city in North Darfur, was placed under a sustained siege for roughly 18 months before the October assault, concentrating internally displaced people and limiting humanitarian relief. Prior international investigations and advocacy groups have repeatedly reported atrocities by both sides in Sudan’s conflict, including mass killings, forced displacement and sexual violence. While some governments and NGOs have used the term genocide for parts of Darfur, the UN’s recent reporting has been more circumspect pending legal assessments.

Main Event

The October offensive began with concentrated RSF operations in and around el‑Fasher, according to witness statements compiled by the UN. Survivors describe attacks on civilian shelters, including an account of hundreds of people sheltering in a university building who were fired upon as RSF fighters entered the compound. The UN report says observers saw bodies in streets and inside buildings in the immediate aftermath.

In the three days of intense fighting, the UN documentation attributes roughly 4,400 deaths to violence inside el‑Fasher itself, while more than 1,600 people were recorded killed as they tried to escape along roads and informal routes out of the city. Testimonies gathered by investigators in Sudan and eastern Chad detailed coordinated house‑to‑house operations, summary executions, and scenes survivors likened to mass slaughter.

Humanitarian responders faced severe access constraints during and after the assault. Aid workers and displaced people told investigators that checkpoints, road insecurity and active hostilities impeded evacuation and medical treatment. Some civilians sought refuge in camps further north and west, but reports indicate many bodies remained uncollected due to the security environment.

Analysis & Implications

The reported scale and pattern of killings in el‑Fasher represent a major escalation that compounds an already dire humanitarian crisis in Darfur. Concentrated sieges followed by rapid urban assaults magnify civilian vulnerability: sieges increase population density and deplete supplies, while sudden offensives produce large numbers of casualties and chaotic displacement. Those dynamics complicate evidence gathering and forensic verification, but the volume of consistent testimony raises serious concerns about command responsibility and systematic conduct.

Politically, the episode increases pressure on external backers and regional actors to recalibrate their ties to Sudanese armed groups. Western governments have moved to sanction senior commanders on both sides; the UK’s recent measures targeted six individuals it said were fuelling the conflict and named foreign intermediaries allegedly recruiting mercenaries. Such steps seek to limit external enablement but have uncertain short‑term effects on battlefield behavior.

Legally, the divergence between some governments’ genocide determinations and the UN’s more measured language highlights the difficulty of reaching consensus on legal characterizations while investigations continue. If patterns of mass killing and discriminatory targeting are substantiated at scale, they could form the basis for international criminal prosecutions, though political and logistic hurdles to evidence‑based prosecutions remain significant.

Comparison & Data

The table summarizes key figures from the UN report and broader conflict statistics. While the UN report gives a numeric breakdown for the immediate assault, it also warns the actual death toll during the full offensive is likely higher. Displacement and protracted siege conditions amplify long‑term needs for shelter, health care and protection services across Darfur and neighboring border regions.

Reactions & Quotes

“These reports document grave violations and underline the urgent need for all parties to protect civilians,”

Volker Türk, UN Human Rights Chief

Türk’s statement accompanies the UN’s call for cessation of abuses and for unfettered humanitarian access to affected populations.

“We have imposed targeted sanctions on individuals we assess are worsening the conflict and will continue to control arms exports carefully,”

Yvette Cooper, UK Foreign Secretary

The UK announced sanctions last week on six figures it said were fuelling the war, including senior commanders and alleged foreign recruiters; officials framed the measures as part of broader efforts to reduce external enablement of violence.

“It was like a scene out of a horror movie,”

Survivor interviewed by UN investigators

Survivor testimony reported to UN investigators described mass killings at civilian concentrations, underscoring the human toll documented in the report.

Unconfirmed

• The precise total death toll for the full week‑long offensive is unknown; the UN report states the actual number is likely higher but does not offer a definitive final tally.
• Claims that the United Arab Emirates is the principal arms supplier to the RSF remain contested and have been denied by the UAE; independent verification of large‑scale state supply has not been publicly confirmed in the UN report.
• Whether the events in Darfur meet the legal threshold of genocide under international law has been asserted by some governments and NGOs but has not been formally determined by the UN in its latest public reports.
• Allegations about the recruitment of Colombian mercenaries are part of sanctions announcements and investigative claims but require further open, verifiable evidence to establish networks and chains of command.

Bottom Line

The UN‑documented killings in el‑Fasher mark one of the deadliest episodes of the Sudan conflict and highlight the acute risk to civilians when sieges give way to rapid urban offensives. The scale of casualty reports, survivor testimony, and constraints on humanitarian access together point to serious violations that demand impartial investigation and accountability mechanisms.

International responses — including sanctions and public condemnations — have increased, but their capacity to halt hostilities or prevent further atrocities is limited without sustained diplomatic pressure, arms controls, and enhanced protection measures on the ground. For the millions displaced and tens of thousands affected in Darfur, urgent improvements in aid access, security guarantees, and credible accountability processes are essential to prevent further mass suffering.

Sources

• BBC News (international media report)
• UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) (official UN body)
• UK Government – Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (official announcement)
• Human Rights Watch (international NGO)