UN-backed investigators reported on Thursday that an October assault by Sudan’s paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) on el-Fasher and nearby communities in Darfur showed “hallmarks of genocide.” The fact-finding team said the RSF’s offensive followed an 18-month siege and targeted non-Arab groups — especially the Zaghawa and Fur — with killings, sexual violence and conditions calculated to destroy parts of those communities. U.N. officials said several thousand civilians died during the RSF takeover; the Human Rights Office reported more than 6,000 killed between Oct. 25 and Oct. 27, and only 40% of el-Fasher’s 260,000 residents were able to flee the assault alive.
Key Takeaways
- The RSF overran el-Fasher on Oct. 26 after an 18-month siege; the U.N. Human Rights Office reports over 6,000 people killed between Oct. 25–27 in the city.
- Only 40% of el-Fasher’s estimated 260,000 residents managed to escape the October onslaught alive, leaving the fate of many thousands unknown.
- The fact-finding team found evidence meeting at least three of the five Genocide Convention criteria: targeted killings, serious bodily and mental harm, and conditions calculated to bring about physical destruction.
- Abu Shouk displacement camp, adjacent to el-Fasher, saw at least 300 people killed in a two-day rampage ahead of the city attack.
- The report documents systematic ethnic targeting of Zaghawa and Fur communities, with survivors reporting explicit eliminationist language by fighters.
- The Human Rights Council-established mission urged accountability and warned civilian protection is urgently needed as the conflict spreads in Sudan.
Background
Sudan descended into full-scale fighting in mid-April 2023 when tensions between the Sudanese military and the RSF erupted in Khartoum and expanded into multiple regions, including Darfur. The RSF evolved from Janjaweed militias that carried out large-scale atrocities in the 2000s; those earlier campaigns are estimated to have caused roughly 300,000 deaths and displaced some 2.7 million people. The current war has been devastating: U.N. tallies put the death toll at more than 40,000, while aid groups warn the true figure could be substantially higher.
El-Fasher was one of the last government strongholds in northern Darfur and endured an approximately 18-month siege before the October offensive. Humanitarian access and basic services had already been severely degraded by the prolonged fighting, leaving many inhabitants malnourished and unable to escape rapidly when the RSF launched its assault. The Human Rights Council in 2023 established an independent fact-finding mission to collect testimony and evidence as violence continued across Sudan.
Main Event
The RSF entered el-Fasher on Oct. 26 in an operation the fact-finding team described as planned and organized rather than chaotic spoiling by undisciplined fighters. Investigators recorded accounts of mass killings, summary executions, widespread sexual violence, torture, abductions for ransom and extensive destruction of property across the city. Many survivors said fighters explicitly sought members of non-Arab ethnic groups.
Between Oct. 25 and Oct. 27, the U.N. Human Rights Office reported more than 6,000 people killed in the city; thousands more were wounded and displaced. In the days immediately preceding the city assault, RSF elements reportedly committed several hundred killings at the nearby Abu Shouk displacement camp. The combined pattern of violence and forced deprivation — cutting off food, restricting movement and destroying shelters — contributed to conditions the fact-finding team said were calculated to bring about parts of targeted groups’ physical destruction.
Team chair Mohamed Chande Othman characterized the operation as more than incidental brutality of war, saying the evidence pointed to targeting by ethnicity and tactics meant to incapacitate and remove communities. Survivors quoted in the report recounted fighters asking for people’s ethnic identities and saying things that indicated intent to eliminate non-Arab presence in parts of Darfur. The RSF did not respond to specific requests for comment through the channels used by investigators, and its leadership has disputed the scale of some allegations.
Analysis & Implications
If substantiated through further judicial processes, a finding that the RSF’s conduct in el-Fasher bore hallmarks of genocide would carry profound legal and political consequences. Under the 1948 Genocide Convention, even a single satisfied criterion can trigger obligations for states to prevent and punish genocide; the mission reported at least three criteria were met in October’s events. That raises pressure for international investigations, referrals, and potential sanctions or legal actions against senior commanders and backers.
Politically, the report intensifies scrutiny of external actors accused of supporting the RSF. U.N. experts and rights groups have alleged the United Arab Emirates provided backing to RSF forces during the conflict, an allegation the UAE has denied. Such accusations, if supported by further evidence, could reshape diplomatic relations and prompt new policy responses from states engaged with Sudan.
Humanitarian consequences are immediate and severe. Large-scale killings, sexual violence, and the destruction of shelters and livelihoods will complicate relief efforts and raise the number of internally displaced persons and refugees. The mission warned protection of civilians is “more than ever” required as violence spreads; absent rapid increases in assistance and secure access, the human toll is likely to grow.
Comparison & Data
| Event / Location | Reported Deaths | Date(s) |
|---|---|---|
| El-Fasher city takeover (RSF) | Over 6,000 | Oct. 25–27, 2023 |
| Abu Shouk displacement camp | At least 300 | Two days before Oct. 26, 2023 |
| Estimated deaths in Sudan war (U.N.) | More than 40,000 | Since April 15, 2023 — ongoing |
The table summarizes central, reported figures from U.N.-linked investigations and offices. Numbers reflect the fact-finding mission’s findings and Human Rights Office statements; many counts remain provisional due to continued insecurity, limited access and population displacement. The city’s estimated 260,000 residents and the stat that only about 40% fled alive imply roughly 104,000 people escaped immediate lethality, while many thousands more remain unaccounted for.
Reactions & Quotes
“The RSF operation was not a series of random wartime excesses; it showed patterns consistent with intent to target and destroy parts of non‑Arab communities,”
Mohamed Chande Othman, Chair, U.N. fact-finding mission on Sudan
The mission chair framed the evidence as indicative of organized targeting rather than incidental violence, underscoring calls for accountability.
“Today’s report describes the most unimaginable and chilling horrors… The world is still failing the people of Sudan,”
Yvette Cooper, British Foreign Secretary
Britain’s foreign minister said she would bring the findings to the U.N. Security Council to press for action and to amplify survivors’ voices.
Unconfirmed
- The precise total number of civilians killed in el-Fasher and surrounding areas remains unverified; the mission’s reported figures are based on available testimony and documentation but may change with further investigation.
- Allegations of external military or logistical support to specific RSF units (including claims about UAE involvement) have been reported by rights groups and U.N. experts but remain disputed and denied by implicated states.
- The full chain of command for some RSF units involved in the October operation has not been independently established in prosecutable detail at this stage.
Bottom Line
The UN-backed fact-finding mission’s conclusion that the RSF’s October assault on el-Fasher bears hallmarks of genocide marks a significant escalation in international concern over Sudan’s war. The findings do not by themselves produce a legal verdict of genocide, but they substantially raise the urgency for impartial investigations, protection measures for civilians and avenues of accountability, including criminal probes that can be pursued by states or international tribunals.
For policymakers and humanitarian actors, the immediate priorities are to secure safer access for relief, document evidence with chain-of-custody standards, and support mechanisms that can deter further mass atrocities. If subsequent inquiries corroborate the mission’s findings, the international community will face mounting legal and moral pressure to take coordinated steps to prevent further destruction and to hold those responsible to account.
Sources
- Associated Press (news report summarizing mission findings)
- Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UN Human Rights Office) — official
- UN Human Rights Council (official body that established the fact-finding mission)
- UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (government reaction and statements)