RSF Accused of Crimes Against Humanity in Sudan’s el‑Fasher Siege



A woman in a black headscarf sits as people and children gather in the background
More than 6,000 people were killed in el‑Fasher last year, the UN says.


Amnesty International’s latest investigation alleges that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) carried out a campaign of crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing during their 18‑month siege of el‑Fasher, a town in western Darfur.


The report lists a range of abuses, including murder, forcible transfer, imprisonment, torture, rape, sexual slavery, persecution and extermination. The RSF’s actions, according to the findings, “may be relevant to the crime of genocide.”


One survivor, a 17‑year‑old boy, recounted how he was beaten and shot in the leg while traveling on a camel. He now uses crutches to walk and reported that eight of his cousins, all boys aged between 11 and 17, were killed in the same attack.


Amnesty researchers analysed 89 open‑source videos and satellite imagery to document attacks that were often directed at civilians because of their ethnic identity. RSF fighters were found to target members of non‑Arab communities, using ethnic slurs and engaging in systematic violence against the Zaghawa, the predominant group defending el‑Fasher.


Agn’s Callamard, secretary‑general of Amnesty International, warned that the world had been warned of the horrors that civilians in el‑Fasher faced. She called the events a “stain on the conscience of humanity” and urged an immediate ceasefire and the deployment of an international peace force to protect civilians.


The RSF leadership acknowledged that some violations occurred and said investigations were underway, but denied that the scale of the atrocities was being exaggerated.


The UN, which described the assault on el‑Fasher as bearing the “hallmarks of genocide,” reported that more than 6,000 people were killed in just three days of the assault. The ongoing civil war has already killed hundreds of thousands of people and displaced over 14 million civilians, with 28 million people facing acute hunger.


Both the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have been accused of war crimes; each has denied allegations. The conflict continues to erupt across Sudan, with the RSF shifting focus from Khartoum to consolidating control over western Darfur and extending influence into the Kordofan states.


International pressure is mounting on the parties involved, and calls for accountability grow louder after the release of this report. The human cost of the conflict remains staggering, and the global community faces a pressing need to intervene to prevent further atrocities.