The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission for the Sudan said on Thursday that the Rapid Support Forces (RSF)’s mass killings and related atrocities committed during the October 2025 takeover of El Fasher region in Sudan showed “hallmarks of genocide” against Sudanese ethnic communities. The Mission urged an immediate intervention to ensure the protection of civilians from ongoing abuses.
Based on a report assessing the events that followed the seizure of the El Fasher region, the UN fact-finding mission found evidence that the RSF committed three acts of genocide against the Zaghawa and Fur communities, two Sudanese ethnic communities that have consistently been targeted with human rights abuses. The perpetrated acts include the targeted killings of members of the mentioned ethnic groups, the infliction of physical and mental harm, and the deliberate imposition of conditions of life intended to cause the physical destruction of these communities through an 18-month siege that deprived civilians of access to food, water, and humanitarian assistance.
Additionally, the UN mission concluded that all the perpetrated abuses indicate genocidal intent as the only reasonable inference from RSF actions against the Zaghawa and Fur ethnic groups. The Chair of the UN fact-finding mission, Mohamed Chande Othman, further stressed that the scale, coordination, and public endorsement of the operation by the RSF demonstrate that the atrocities committed during El Fasher capture were not random excesses of war, but rather a planned and organized operation that meets the characterisitcs of genocide under Article 2 of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide.
The fact-finding mission also warned that the risk of further genocidal acts remains serious due to the RSF’s territorial expansion and called for urgent international measures to protect Sudanese civilians from future attacks.
The UN has previously expressed serious concerns about the deadly attacks conducted by the RSF in El Fasher, the besieged capital of North Darfur, and a nearby displacement camp, which resulted in an alarming death toll including many children and aid workers. In November 2025, the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) stated that the RSF’s attacks against Sudanese civilians in El Fasher may amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, which was confirmed by the UN in February 2026. The armed conflict between the RSF and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) has plunged Sudan into permanent turmoil and a worsening humanitarian crisis marked by disease outbreaks, hunger, and mass displacements. Despite international calls for a ceasefire, violence continued to escalate, further exacerbating the situation.
