International human rights investigators have concluded that paramilitary forces in Sudan conducted operations in October that exhibit characteristics of genocide against ethnic minority groups in the Darfur region.
The United Nations-supported fact-finding team released findings Thursday showing the Rapid Support Forces executed mass killings and other brutal acts in el-Fasher following an 18-month blockade. The investigators determined these actions were designed to physically eliminate non-Arab populations, specifically targeting Zaghawa and Fur ethnic groups.
According to UN officials, the RSF’s conquest of el-Fasher resulted in several thousand civilian deaths. The city had been the Sudanese military’s final remaining position in Darfur. Of el-Fasher’s 260,000 inhabitants, only 40% successfully escaped the assault, with thousands suffering injuries. The whereabouts of remaining residents is unclear.
The conflict in Sudan began in April 2023 when tensions between military and paramilitary leadership erupted in Khartoum before spreading to additional areas including Darfur.
This devastating conflict has claimed over 40,000 lives based on UN data, though humanitarian organizations believe the actual death toll could be significantly higher.
The RSF along with allied Arab militia groups called Janjaweed captured el-Fasher on October 26 and conducted widespread violence throughout the area. Their offensive included mass executions, sexual assault, torture, and kidnappings for financial gain, according to the UN Human Rights Office.
Between October 25 and 27, the forces killed more than 6,000 people within the city limits. Prior to the main attack, rebels attacked the Abu Shouk displacement facility near the city, killing at least 300 individuals over two days.
The RSF did not provide a response to requests for comment. Their leader, General Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo, has previously admitted to misconduct by his troops while questioning the extent of reported atrocities.
The international Genocide Convention from 1948 establishes five standards for determining genocide: killing group members; causing severe physical or psychological damage; implementing birth prevention measures; intentionally creating conditions for physical elimination; and forcibly moving children to different groups.
The investigation team found evidence of at least three criteria being satisfied by RSF actions. The convention allows for genocide determination if even one criterion is met.
According to the team, RSF activities in el-Fasher included murdering members of protected ethnic groups, inflicting serious physical and mental trauma, and intentionally creating life conditions designed to destroy the group partially or completely.
The findings cited systematic ethnically-motivated killings, sexual violence, destruction, and public declarations calling for non-Arab community elimination.
Mohamed Chande Othman, the team’s chairman and former Tanzania chief justice, stated the RSF operations were not “random excesses of war” but indicated a deliberate and coordinated effort displaying genocide characteristics.
“Physically exhausted, malnourished, and in part unable to flee, leaving them defenseless against the extreme violence that followed,” the report described el-Fasher residents. “Thousands of persons, particularly the Zaghawa, were killed, raped or disappeared during three days of absolute horror.”
The investigation documented mass killings, extensive rape, sexual violence, torture, arbitrary imprisonment, extortion, and forced disappearances during the RSF takeover in late October.
The report recorded survivor accounts of fighters making statements such as: “Is there anyone Zaghawa among you? If we find Zaghawa, we will kill them all” and “We want to eliminate anything black from Darfur.”
Investigators noted “selective targeting” of Zaghawa and Fur women and girls, “while women perceived as Arab were often spared.”
The Geneva-based Human Rights Council, the UN’s primary human rights organization with 47 member nations, established the fact-finding team in 2023.
The team demanded accountability for those responsible and emphasized that civilian protection is needed “more than ever” as the conflict spreads to additional Sudanese regions.
Throughout the conflict, both sides have faced accusations of international law violations, though most atrocities have been attributed to the RSF. The Biden administration recently declared the group committed genocide in Darfur.
UN experts and rights organizations report that the United Arab Emirates has supported the RSF during the war, though the UAE denies these claims.
The RSF originated from Janjaweed militias that gained infamy for atrocities in the early 2000s during a brutal campaign against people of East or Central African identity in Darfur. That earlier campaign resulted in approximately 300,000 deaths and displaced 2.7 million people.
