Sudan's paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) have allegedly committed numerous crimes against humanity during their siege of the city of el-Fasher in Darfur, according to a report from UN investigators.
The report by the UN Fact-Finding Mission accuses the group of murder, torture, enslavement, rape, sexual slavery, sexual violence, forced displacement and persecution on ethnic, gender and political grounds. It also cited broader evidence of alleged war crimes by both the RSF and the regular army, although both sides have denied any wrongdoing in the ongoing civil war.
The UN report stated that the two groups targeted civilians through various means as part of a deliberate strategy. Both sides have deliberately targeted civilians through attacks, summary executions, arbitrary detention, torture, and inhuman treatment in detention facilities, including denial of food, sanitation, and medical care, said Mohamed Chande Othman, chair of the Fact-Finding Mission.
Highlighting the RSF's actions in el-Fasher, the report accused the group of using starvation as a method of warfare that could amount to the crime of extermination. In April, the RSF stormed the Zamzam camp near el-Fasher, forcing tens of thousands of destitute individuals to flee their homes once again, in a situation already dire enough to declare a famine.
The city of el-Fasher has faced a siege for over a year and remains the Sudanese army's last significant foothold in the Darfur region. The U.S. has accused the RSF of committing genocide against Darfur’s non-Arabic population. Meanwhile, the RSF has denied culpability, attributing the violence to local militias.
The U.S. has also imposed sanctions on army chief Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan, citing him for civilian deaths and employing food deprivation as a weapon of war. The conflict between the army and the RSF has escalated since April 2023, with local residents reporting intensified offensives on el-Fasher.
Recent Yale University research analyzing satellite images indicated that substantial structures have been erected by the RSF outside the city, aiming to entrap civilians. The report, titled A War of Atrocities, urged the international community to implement an arms embargo and establish an independent judicial process to hold alleged perpetrators accountable.
Our findings leave no room for doubt: civilians are paying the highest price in this war, Othman added. The ongoing civil war in Sudan has resulted in tens of thousands of deaths and displaced over 13 million individuals from their homes.
