UN Experts Declare Sudan's RSF Actions in El-Fasher Bear Hallmarks of Genocide
In a dramatic finding amid Sudan's devastating war, UN-backed human rights experts have reported that a "campaign of destruction" by Sudanese rebels in October shows "hallmarks of genocide" against non-Arab communities. The independent fact-finding mission on Sudan detailed that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) carried out mass killings and atrocities in el-Fasher after an 18-month siege, imposing conditions calculated to bring about the physical destruction of groups like the Zaghawa and Fur.
Mass Atrocities and Civilian Toll
According to UN officials, several thousand civilians were killed during the RSF takeover of el-Fasher, the Sudanese army's last stronghold in Darfur. Only 40% of the city's 260,000 residents managed to flee alive, with thousands wounded, and the fate of the rest remains unknown. The RSF and allied Arab militias, known as Janjaweed, overran the city on October 26, 2026, rampaging through with widespread atrocities including mass killings, summary executions, sexual violence, torture, and abductions for ransom.
The UN Human Rights Office stated that more than 6,000 people were killed between October 25 and 27 in the city, and at least 300 were killed in two days at the Abu Shouk displacement camp just outside el-Fasher ahead of the attack. The RSF did not respond to requests for comment, though its commander, Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, has previously acknowledged abuses while disputing their scale.
Genocide Criteria Met
The fact-finding team assessed the actions under the 1948 Genocide Convention, which sets five criteria for genocide. The team found that at least three of these criteria were met by the RSF in el-Fasher: killing members of a protected ethnic group, causing serious bodily and mental harm, and deliberately inflicting conditions to bring about physical destruction. Under the convention, even one criterion can suffice for a genocide determination.
The report cited a systematic pattern of ethnically targeted killings, sexual violence, destruction, and public statements calling for the elimination of non-Arab communities. Team chair Mohamed Chande Othman, a former chief justice of Tanzania, emphasized that these were not "random excesses of war" but a planned operation with genocide characteristics.
Targeted Violence and Survivor Accounts
El-Fasher's residents were described as "physically exhausted, malnourished, and in part unable to flee", leaving them defenseless against extreme violence. The report documented mass killings, widespread rape, torture, arbitrary detention, extortion, and enforced disappearances during the late October takeover. Survivors quoted RSF fighters saying things like, "Is there anyone Zaghawa among you? If we find Zaghawa, we will kill them all" and "We want to eliminate anything black from Darfur."
There was "selective targeting" of Zaghawa and Fur women and girls, while women perceived as Arab were often spared. The report highlighted that thousands, particularly the Zaghawa, were killed, raped, or disappeared in what it called "three days of absolute horror."
Context and Calls for Accountability
Sudan plunged into conflict in mid-April 2023 when tensions between military and paramilitary leaders erupted in Khartoum and spread to regions like Darfur. The war has killed over 40,000 people according to UN figures, though aid groups warn the true number is much higher. The fact-finding team, created in 2023 by the UN Human Rights Council, called for accountability for perpetrators and stressed that civilian protection is needed "more than ever" as the conflict expands.
Over the course of the conflict, warring parties have been accused of violating international law, with most atrocities blamed on the RSF. In one of its last decisions, the Biden administration stated the RSF committed genocide in Darfur. The RSF has been supported by the United Arab Emirates, according to UN experts and rights groups, though the UAE denies the allegations. The RSF grew from the Janjaweed militias, notorious for atrocities in the early 2000s that killed some 300,000 people and displaced 2.7 million in Darfur.
