A United Nations probe has concluded that Sudan's Rapid Support Forces (RSF) committed mass killings, abductions, mass gang rapes, and forced starvation in al-Fashir, north Darfur, as part of an intentional policy amounting to genocide. The UN Fact-Finding Mission for Sudan made these findings following their investigation into crimes committed in the city after it was captured by the RSF last year.
Survivors recounted to the mission instances of rape occurring in rooms where the bodies of recently deceased civilians, including family members, were still present. The report also detailed how the RSF and its allies engaged in the war crime of starvation by imposing a prolonged siege on al-Fashir, obstructing relief supplies, and shelling food production systems.
These allegations follow a previous report in February by the same fact-finding mission, which had already indicated that mass killings of non-Arab communities during the RSF's capture of al-Fashir bore the hallmarks of genocide. The latest report asserts that additional evidence substantiates a widespread and systematic pattern of conduct by the RSF, including large-scale killings, mass rape, and deliberate starvation, all indicative of an intended policy.
"The patterns we documented in al-Fashir – including encirclement, attacks on civilian infrastructure, restrictions on humanitarian access, and widespread abuses against civilians – serve as a stark warning," said Mohamed Chande Othman, the mission’s chair. "The international community must heed these lessons and act to prevent further catastrophe."
Meanwhile, the UN human rights chief has warned that a similar humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding around al-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state. His office has documented patterns of summary executions, abductions, torture, and sexual violence in the surrounding region. In response to the escalating violence, UN human rights council members established an urgent inquiry into alleged abuses.
Britain and other nations have voiced concerns about the risk of large-scale atrocities as the RSF amasses forces around al-Obeid, a city now accommodating approximately half a million people, including over 83,000 internally displaced individuals.
The RSF has denied committing such abuses, which have occurred during the ongoing civil war against the Sudanese army. The group has stated that the accounts are fabricated by its adversaries and has made counter-accusations. Mona Mohamed, a Sudanese refugee, reacts during an interview at the Iridimi refugee camp.
Graves line a street in the Salha neighborhood after the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) barred local residents from burying their dead in the main cemeteries.