A United Nations fact-finding mission has found that the siege and capture of the Darfur city of el-Fasher by Sudan’s Rapid Support Forces show strong evidence of genocide. Investigators concluded that the RSF targeted ethnic communities deliberately, employing mass killings, sexual violence, and starvation to inflict severe harm on civilians.
El-Fasher, in western Darfur, fell to RSF control at the end of October following an 18-month blockade that left residents cut off from food, aid, and essential services.
The takeover represents one of the deadliest chapters in Sudan’s nearly three-year civil war and drew widespread international condemnation. This report marks the UN’s most explicit statement yet linking RSF operations in Darfur to genocidal intent. While the RSF has previously denied similar accusations, it has not responded to the new findings.
“The body of evidence we collected — including the prolonged siege, starvation and denial of humanitarian assistance, followed by mass killings, rape, torture and enforced disappearance, systematic humiliation and perpetrators' own declarations - leaves only one reasonable inference,” said fact-finding mission expert Mona Rishmawi.
“The RSF acted with intent to destroy, in whole or in part, the Zaghawa and Fur communities in El-Fasher. These are the hallmarks of genocide.”
According to the report, the RSF committed at least three acts recognized under international law as genocide: killing members of protected ethnic groups, causing serious bodily and mental harm, and creating living conditions calculated to destroy communities in whole or part.
Although investigators could not access the city directly, their findings were based on over 320 survivor interviews, verified videos, satellite imagery, and statements from RSF commanders.
Sudan’s civil war began in April 2023, when tensions between the regular army and the RSF escalated over integrating paramilitary forces into the national military. The dispute quickly developed into a nationwide conflict shaped by historical ethnic tensions and local grievances. Both sides have faced allegations of human rights violations and war crimes.
In Darfur, Arab militias at the heart of the RSF have repeatedly targeted non-Arab populations, using tactics reminiscent of violence seen two decades ago under former Sudanese leader Omar al-Bashir, when hundreds of thousands of Darfuris were killed in campaigns against indigenous African ethnic groups.
The report details how el-Fasher was systematically starved and devastated during the siege. The weakened population became defenseless when RSF forces launched their assault.
“Thousands of persons, particularly the Zaghawa, were killed, raped or disappeared during three days of absolute horror,” the mission said, noting that RSF fighters did not distinguish civilians from combatants.
Investigators described RSF actions as an escalation of earlier abuses but on an unprecedentedly lethal scale. They warned that the failure to prevent such atrocities despite clear warning signs leaves the threat of further genocidal acts ongoing.
The UN mission was mandated by the Human Rights Council in Geneva to identify suspected perpetrators for accountability.
Its report names RSF leader Lt Gen Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, known as Hemedti, and spokesperson Lt Col Al-Fatih Al-Qurashi, highlighting their public endorsements of the operation.
While Hemedti admitted some “violations” occurred during the city’s capture, he defended the assault as necessary and described el-Fasher as a “catastrophe.” He instructed his forces not to harm civilians or kill prisoners and promised investigations. However, the RSF did not respond to the mission’s requests for information about measures taken.
“The scale, coordination, and public endorsement of the operation by the senior Rapid Support Forces leadership point to a planned and organised operation executed through an established hierarchy and structure, rather than isolated acts,” the UN team said.
The report also highlights one commander, “Abu Lulu,” arrested after video evidence of his brutality went viral, though authorities provided no updates on judicial proceedings.
Sudanese officials failed to cooperate with the mission despite repeated efforts. UK Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper called the findings “truly horrific” and said she would present them to the United Nations Security Council. She urged investigations, accountability, and a halt to arms flows that sustain the conflict.
Although the mission did not investigate foreign involvement, it noted that RSF operations were strengthened by mercenaries with advanced weaponry and communications systems. Investigators are engaging with multiple countries regarding credible reports of external support.
The United Arab Emirates has been widely cited as a primary backer of the RSF, though it strongly denies these claims. After the El-Fasher attacks, Abu Dhabi faced scrutiny but no public pressure from the UN, the US, or the UK. The Emirati foreign ministry condemned violations cited in the report while also denouncing alleged abuses by Sudanese forces.
The UN investigators called on the international community to enforce the arms embargo in Darfur, extend it nationwide, block weapons transfers to violators, apply targeted sanctions, fully cooperate with the International Criminal Court, and consider a judicial mechanism to work alongside it.
Cooper supported these measures and highlighted the widespread sexual violence she called “a war against women's bodies.”
“Most important of all we need global action and pressure in pursuit of a ceasefire, and essential humanitarian access with support for survivors,” she said.
The Security Council session aims to advance a humanitarian truce, which has remained elusive despite the heavy civilian toll. Both sides frame the conflict as existential and continue fighting with sophisticated weapons supplied by foreign allies.
“The world is still failing the people of Sudan,” Cooper said. “When the stories started to emerge about the horrors of El-Fasher, it should have been a turning point, but the violence is continuing. Today, in the Security Council, the UK as President, will make sure the world does not look away.”
