Accusations of Crimes Against Humanity Amid Sudan's Civil Conflict

Sat Sep 13 2025 06:49:23 GMT+0300 (Eastern European Summer Time)

A recent UN report has accused Sudan's paramilitary RSF of committing numerous crimes against humanity during the ongoing siege of el-Fasher, highlighting severe human rights violations and the targeting of civilians.

UN investigators have accused Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) of committing crimes against humanity in el-Fasher, including torture, sexual violence, and forced displacement. The findings reveal a systematic attack on civilians, corroborated by evidence of both the RSF and the regular army's involvement in war crimes. The situation has led to severe humanitarian crises, with a significant toll on non-Arab populations in Darfur.

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 recent report by UN investigators.

The report accuses the RSF of offenses such as murder, torture, enslavement, rape, sexual slavery, sexual violence, forced displacement, and persecution on ethnic, gender, and political grounds. Evidence was also mentioned against both the RSF and the regular army, though both factions have previously denied any wrongdoing in the ongoing civil conflict in Sudan.

Fact-Finding Mission chair, Mohamed Chande Othman, stated, Both sides have deliberately targeted civilians through attacks, summary executions, arbitrary detention, torture, and inhuman treatment in detention facilities. He emphasized that these actions were not accidents but rather deliberate strategies amounting to war crimes. The report highlighted the RSF’s use of starvation as a method of warfare, potentially amounting to the crime of extermination.

In April, the RSF stormed the Zamzam camp near el-Fasher, forcing tens of thousands of vulnerable people to flee their homes once more, amid a declaration of famine in the camp. Currently, el-Fasher remains the last major stronghold of the Sudanese army in Darfur, which has faced a siege for over a year now.

The instability has led to accusations from the US asserting that the RSF is committing genocide against Darfur's non-Arab populations. The RSF in turn blames the local militias for the violence.

As of now, the ongoing conflict has led to numerous casualties, with tens of thousands reported dead and around 13 million individuals displaced.

US sanctions have also been imposed on army chief Gen Abdel Fattah al-Burhan due to civilian deaths and the use of starvation as a weapon. Recent satellite imagery analysis from Yale University indicated that significant physical barriers have been constructed by the RSF to trap civilians in and around el-Fasher.

The report titled A War of Atrocities has called for the international community to impose an arms embargo and to establish an independent judicial process to hold those responsible accountable. Othman concluded: Our findings leave no room for doubt: civilians are paying the highest price in this war.