GENEVA – A United Nations fact-finding mission has issued its starkest warning yet over atrocities committed during Sudan’s devastating civil war, concluding that abuses allegedly carried out by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Darfur display further “markers of genocide” and warning that similar crimes could soon unfold in the strategic city of El-Obeid.
The report, released in Geneva, documents widespread accounts of mass killings, systematic abductions of women and girls, gang rape, torture, forced displacement, and the deliberate destruction of civilian livelihoods during the RSF’s campaign in and around El-Fasher, North Darfur. Investigators said the pattern of violence appeared organized and targeted, particularly against non-Arab communities, indicating an intent to destroy protected groups in whole or in part.
Drawing on survivor testimony, satellite imagery, medical records, and other evidence, the UN mission said women and girls were subjected to systematic sexual violence, while civilians described witnessing executions, entire families being killed, and people abducted from their homes. The investigators also found evidence that humanitarian aid was deliberately obstructed and food production systems were targeted, contributing to starvation and catastrophic living conditions for civilians trapped by the fighting.
“The situation reveals additional markers of genocide,” the investigators said, stressing that the crimes extended beyond isolated battlefield abuses and formed part of a broader campaign against vulnerable civilian populations.
The RSF has rejected the findings, denying responsibility for the alleged atrocities and dismissing accusations of genocide. The group has repeatedly blamed Sudan’s military and allied militias for abuses committed during the conflict.
UN investigators also warned that the rapidly deteriorating situation in El-Obeid, the capital of North Kordofan state, carries an alarming risk of repeating the horrors witnessed in El-Fasher. They said RSF forces have intensified military operations around the city, where more than half a million civilians have endured months of insecurity and hundreds of thousands remain at risk should fighting escalate further.
The Human Rights Council has launched an urgent inquiry into the situation around El-Obeid as international concern grows over reports of artillery attacks, drone strikes, and mounting civilian casualties. Rights officials have urged all parties to the conflict to protect civilians, allow unrestricted humanitarian access, and prevent further mass atrocities.
Sudan has been engulfed in war since April 2023, when fighting erupted between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the RSF. The conflict has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced millions, and triggered one of the world’s worst humanitarian crises, with widespread allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity against multiple parties to the conflict.
