The actions of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) during the capture of El-Fasher city in Sudan amount to “war crimes and possible crimes against humanity,” a UN report revealed on Friday.
In late October 2025, the RSF captured El-Fasher after an 18-month siege, unleashing a wave of atrocities, including summary executions, sexual violence and mass detention, and raising fears over hundreds of thousands of trapped civilians.
Mass Killings
A report published by the UN Human Rights Office (OHCHR) on Friday said that the RSF unleashed “a wave of intense violence … shocking in its scale and brutality” during its capture of El-Fasher, the capital city of North Darfur state.
The report concluded that the paramilitary group committed “widespread atrocities that amount to war crimes and possible crimes against humanity.”
Through interviews with witnesses and victims, the OHCHR has documented more than 6,000 fatalities in the initial three days of the RSF’s El-Fasher offensive, though the total death toll from the week-long assault is undoubtedly much higher.
The report cited “mass killings and summary executions, sexual violence, abductions for ransom, torture and ill-treatment, detention, disappearances, pillage and the use of children in hostilities” committed by the RSF and allied militias.
“There are reasonable grounds to believe that the RSF and affiliated Arab militia committed acts amounting to the war crimes of murder,” the report stated.
Consistent Pattern
The RSF atrocities in El-Fasher echo abuses the paramilitary group previously committed during attacks on Zamzam camp in April 2025 and in El-Geneina and Ardamata in 2023, suggesting a systematic attack against the civilian population in the Darfur region.
“Acts of violence knowingly committed as part of such an attack would amount to crimes against humanity,” the report noted.
A Call for Accountability
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, called on holding the perpetrators of these crimes accountable. “The wanton violations that were perpetrated by the RSF and allied Arab militia in the final offensive on El-Fasher underscore that persistent impunity fuels continued cycles of violence,” he said.
“There must be credible and impartial investigations to establish criminal responsibility, including of commanders and other superiors. These must lead to meaningful accountability for perpetrators of exceptionally serious crimes, through all available means,” he added.
Ending Violations
Moreover, Türk urged the warring parties to halt the grave violations by forces under their command, and called on States with influence to act urgently to prevent the repetition of El-Fasher scenario in other cities.
“This includes respecting the arms embargo already in place, and ending the supply, sale or transfer of arms or military material to the parties,” he noted.
The international community has ramped up pressure on foreign backers to end their support for the warring parties. Sudan has repeatedly accused the UAE of supplying the RSF with weapons, mercenaries and political backing – allegations that Abu Dhabi has consistently denied.
The UN humanitarian chief also renewed his call on States to make every effort to support local, regional, and international mediation initiatives to end the hostilities and establish a clear path toward a civilian-led government.
“In a protection crisis of this scale, human rights must remain central to efforts to achieve a durable resolution of the conflict,” he said.
RSF Crimes in Darfur
In January 2026, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has concluded that the RSF committed systematic war crimes and crimes against humanity during an “appalling” campaign across Darfur.
ICC Deputy Prosecutor Nazhat Shameem Khan reported to the UN Security Council that the paramilitary group’s takeover of El-Fasher in late October 2025 unleashed “collective torture” and mass executions primarily targeting non-Arab communities.
Investigators have utilized satellite data and witness testimony to document a calculated strategy of violence, including rape and the use of mass graves to conceal large-scale killing events, as the RSF asserts control through organized criminality.
Simultaneously, the region is facing a catastrophic man-made famine as food is increasingly used as a weapon of war. According to February 2026 assessments by the UN-backed IPC, acute malnutrition has surged past famine thresholds in North Darfur, with over 50% of children in areas like Umm Baru suffering from life-threatening hunger.
The war in Sudan, which broke out in April 2023 between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF), has triggered the world’s largest humanitarian and displacement crisis, killing thousands and displacing over 15 million people within Sudan and across neighboring countries. It has also pushed parts of the country into famine amid cholera outbreaks.
